This, being the fourth piece in my 2017 budget analysis series, will focus on the budget of the Ministry of Interior.
MINISTRY OF INTERIOR
The Ministry of Interior has a 2017 budget of 545,630,780,046. Of this amount, 63,261,062,486 is the total capital budget, with 482,369,717,560 being the total recurrent budget. The total overhead budget is 34,234,537,935 and the total personnel budget is 448,135,179,625.
There are 9 agencies under the Interior Ministry namely: Federal Ministry of Interior Headquarters, Nigeria Prison Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps; Civil Defence, Immigration and Civil Service Board (CIPB); Customs, Immigration, Prison, Pension Office (CIPPO), Federal Fire Service, Nigerian Police Academy, and the Police Formations and Command.
The rate at which the Interior Ministry budgets for the “Purchase of Computers” is alarming. A look at budgets from 2014 till date will make you think we somehow are a major manufacturer of computers or the Interior Ministry is building Skynet. The 2014 budget for the “Purchase of Computers” is 75,343,403; the 2015 budget for same item is 33,038,828; the 2016 budget for the same item is 312,975,582. The 2017 budget for the “Purchase of Computers” is 83,647,000.
There is a “Special Intervention Fund for the North East and Niger Delta” totalling 7,698,811,673 in the Ministry of Interior Headquarters budget.
The Nigeria Prison Service has two separate budget allocation for the “Rehabilitation of Prisons/Barracks.” In its first appearance, it is allocated the sum of 4,366,254,120 while in the second it is given 1,229,019,555.
There is this relationship between the Nigeria Immigration Service and the purchase of motorcycles and motor vehicles that I do not understand. In 2014 175,842,825 was budgeted for the purchase of “Motorcycles” while 685,151,983 was budgeted for the purchase of “Motor Vehicles.” In the 2015 budget, it was 82,000,000 for “Motorcycles” and 400,151,983 for the purchase of “Motor Vehicles.” In the 2016 budget, the budget for “Motorcycles” dropped to 16,000,000 while that for the purchase of “Motor Vehicles” took an almost 550% leap to 2,148,276,302 when compared with the 2015 figure. Now, let us come back to the 2017 budget where “Motorcycles” got 340,000,000 and “Motor Vehicles” got 1,490,276,297.
There is also everything fishy with the Nigeria Immigration Service budgeting for the “Rehabilitation/Repairs of Police Station/Barracks,” with the amount being 500,000,000. There is yet another 763,105,500 for the “Construction/Provision of Police Station/Barracks.” Remember that this is the budget for the Nigeria Immigration Service and not the Police Service Commission.
In 2016, the Nigeria Immigration Service budgeted for the “Completion Of Nigeria Immigration Service State Comptroller Flag House, Birnin- Kebbi ,Kebbi State (86%)” with 8,834,735 but in the 2017 budget, same item appears with exactly the same amount budgeted for it. Also in 20016, 24,002,030 was budgeted for the “Completion Of Nigeria Immigration Service State Comptroller Flag House, Makurdi, Benue State(74%)” and in the 2017 budget, same item appears with same allocation. This goes on and on, with line items that were budgeted for in 2016, all at different levels of completion, repeated again in the 2017 budget. Remember in my previous analysis I mentioned that the removal of the status of projects by this government made it difficult to know what was going on? Here is a typical example. On a second note, the budget for the Nigeria Immigration Service looks like an exact replica of their 2016 budget.
My people, I am weak. Even the Nigeria Securities and Civil Defence Corps budgeted for the “Construction/Provision of Police Stations/Barracks” with 433,393,869.
In 2016, the Nigeria Securities and Civil Defence Corps had a line item called “Purchase of Fixtures and Fittings For 100% Completed Office Accommodation (258 Rooms) At Sauka, Abuja and 5 Donated State Command Offices and 1 Area Command (On-Going Project)” with 547,400,000 budgeted for it. In the 2017 budget, same item has a budget of 633,717,700 bringing the total in two years to 1,181,117,700 which when divided amongst the 258 rooms turns out to be approximately five million per room.
The NSCDC also has a budget for the “Procurement of Anti-Terrorism, Chemical, Bio-Radiation and Nuclear Weapon Equipment” with 254,209,193 budgeted for it. Maybe it is just me, but I do not seem to grasp what exactly this is for or about.
Between 2014-2017, the Civil Defence, Immigration and Prison Service Board (CIPB) has budgeted for the “Purchase of Computers” every year save for 2015. In 2014, the amount budgeted was 7,548,413. In 2016, the amount was 27,252,000. In 2017, the amount is 7,920,000.
Another thing that is constant in the CIPB budget is the purchasing of “Generating Set” which has happened every year since 2014. In 2014, it was 727,500 while in 2015 it was also 727,500. In 2016, the budgeted amount was 2,250,000 while in the 2017 budget it is 5,850,000.
The total capital budget for the CIPB is 773,795,170 and 423,804,000 of it is budgeted for “Appointment/Recruitment.”
Why is the Federal Fire Service budgeting for the “Kitting of Armed Forces Personnel?” If you then scroll down to where it is “explained,” it is put as “Kitting of Para-Military Personnel.” I want to forget the 80,000,000 budgeted for this item in exchange for understanding what or who these “Armed Forces Personnel” or “Para-Military Personnel” are.
The Federal Fire Service also budgeted for the “Rehabilitation/Repairs of Police Stations/Barracks” with 142,911,811. As if that is not enough, there is a 500,000,000 budget for “Appointment/Recruitment.”
Wait for it. The Federal Fire Service also deemed it worthy to budget for “Purchase of Executive Tables” and they say it will cost the 5,616,000, while the “Executive Chair (Z-888-1)” will cost it 5,656,000.
The Federal Fire Service will also spend 5,661,600 on the “Purchase of Waste Basket.” You cannot be more wasteful than this right now.
This is the end of the fourth part of this budget analysis series and it is obvious we are still not sure of what it is we are doing or want to do.
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Saatah Nubari is on Twitter @Saatah
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