MDAs to return N200bn unspent funds - Minister

By December 31 this year Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are expected to return N200 billion naira as unspent funds to the national treasury, Minister of state for Finance Dr. Yerima Ngama has said.He was speaking before members of the Joint House of Representatives committees on Appropriations, Finance, Legislative Budget and Research and National Planning over the Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF).Ngama said at the end of the on-going fiscal year, the ministry was expecting over N200 billion to be return as unspent fund into the federal government coffers.He also disclosed that the government will budget the sum of N798 billion to service domestic debts in next year which stood at 1.1trillion.'Servicing domestic debt is competing with capital vote, and this is the truth, we want the National Assembly to assist us in this regards because the reality is that future budgets will not be different from what are battling with now.'The minister lamented the continued fall of the value of the naira saying 'it is unfortunate that with all our resources we have allowed naira to wallow down to this figure. If we continue we will finish up at N200 per US dollar or even more. If the CBN cannot take a decision and halt the movement it is sad,' Ngama lamented.For 2012 the minister disclosed that the exchange rate is fixed at N153 to a dollar.Meanwhile, the committee had soft-pedalled on its earlier stance that Minister of Finance, Okonjo-Iweala must appear before them to defend the MTEF document as pre-condition to receive the 2012 Appropriation bill from President Goodluck Jonathan.Okonjo-Iweala was given an ultimatum of 12noon of yesterday to show up at the committee room, or risk the rejection of the 2012 Appropriation bill by the House.Ngama said that the 2012 budget was before premised on $75 per crude oil, but was prune down to $70 per barrel due to certain factors.
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