2015 budget: Sports may get zero allocation

THE House of Representatives Wednesday warned that the nation’s sports would get zero allocation in the 2015 appropriation budget if the leadership of the sector continued to shun the house’s invitation to defend their proposals at the on going deliberations.

  Chairman, House Sports Committee, Godfrey Ali Gaiya, who gave this warning at the budget defence for sports Wednesday in Abuja, warned that the nation’s sporting industry could be grounded this year should the Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Tammy Danagogo and the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, fail to appear before the committee to defend their 2015 budget before Friday.

  Gaiya regretted that after several attempts to make them appear before the committee, both the NSC

and the NFF leadership have refused to appear before the committee for their budget defense.

  “Budget defence is a very important procedure and no responsible parliament will overlook this very important aspect of our expenditure. It is very important that before the budget request for the year is approved, we review what was given to you last year and what was your performance based on what was given to you.

  “We at the committee are disappointed by their attitude because budget defense is a very important aspect of our planning. It is expected that all the agencies of government must be appear before the parliament to show justification for the money collected for the previous year and what they intend to use the money they requested for to do. If they didn’t come, it would put the National Assembly in a difficult position because we need to know what they need money for. It is compulsory for them come and they all know the repercussion of not appearing before the National Assembly committee to defend their budget proposal. It amounts to total disobedience to the law of the land and it shows that they don’t need any fund,” he said.

He disclosed that the letter to the NSC and the NFF to appear before the committee Wednesday were duly served on them two weeks ago, regretting that they decided to show total disregard to the committee.