A member of the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme (SURE-P), Mr Peter Esele, has stated that all the contracts managed by the committee were created by the Federal Government and funds for their execution were appropriated by the National Assembly.
Mr Esele, who also doubles as the president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) made the explanation on our breakfast programme Sunrise daily in Port Harcourt, while reacting to the recent criticism of members of the National Assembly that the SURE-P funds were not used for agriculture.
“The executive decided where they wanted the money to go and then it was appropriated by the National Assembly and it became a law…..we have no input in it” he said.
Mr Esele further explained that he accentuated his position by saying that the SURE-P committee members will not be defending the committee’s budget before the National Assembly.
“We are not going ahead to defend the 2013 Budget (for SURE-P). We also don’t have any input in the 2013 Budget. It is between the Ministry of Finance and Budget Office.”
The SURE-P committee was set up in February 2012, by President Goodluck Jonathan to coordinate the spending of savings from subsidy removal.
