…Over inability to convert 2012 budget performance into percentage
Stories from Iheanacho Nwosu and Chuks Akunna, Abuja
It was drama yesterday in the House of Representatives as members walked out the Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Okon Bassey-Ewa, for allegedly failing to provide the percentage of his ministry’s expenditure in 2012 budget.
The minister was in a session with the House Committee on Science and Technology for the defence of his ministry’s budgetary allocation for 2013. At first, it was like a joke, but the conversation took a strange dimension when he was asked to convert into percentage the performance of his ministry in the current year. He got enraged.
The minister engaged the committee members in a shouting match. Chairman of the committee, Hon Abiodun Akinlade, insisted that the minister must convert the ministry’s 2012 budget performance into percentage . At first Bassey-Ewa made efforts to do the conversion but could not. The minister lost his temper when members joined the chairman to insist that he must do the conversion. They shouted at each other. Akinlade accused the minister of having the tradition of not taking the committee seriously.
He recalled that Bassey-Ewa had failed to provide the percentage performance of his ministry when the committee went to his office for oversight functions in the past. The minister shouted: “We are prepared, we are prepared. You can see that I have been trying to compute the percentage.” When he was called to order that he was appearing before a committee which is an extension of the House, the minister replied that he was first shouted at by a lawmaker.
After trying in vain to get him to answer to queries from the committee, Akinlade, after consultations with his colleagues , ordered Bassey-Ewa to leave and get himself adequately prepared to appear before the committee at another date. Without hesitation, the minister walked out angrily. When he left, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Rabi Shuaibu Jimeta apologized to the lawmakers and promised to put all figures together in subsequent engagement with the committee.
Before the conversation took a frosty turn, the committee had queried the minister on why he refused to approve the appointment of a substantive director-general for the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), leaving . Mohammed Haruna to operate in acting capacity for more than the six months allowed by the law.
Bassey-Ewa admitted that Haruna had acted for about eight months, but explained that the process for the appointment of a substantive boss for NASENI had been completed and was awaiting presidential assent. Meanwhile, the committee chairman, in his opening remarks, had lamented that the government has relegated the development of science and technology to the background by not including the sector in its six priority areas in the 2013 budget.
He said: “The President in his Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earmarked six ministries as priority areas and unfortunately, the Ministry of Science and Technology is not there. No country has ever enjoyed global attention without developing its science and technology potentials. It would be difficult to move this country forward without developing our technology.”
What was the problem here? Maths or English? Is it that the minister does not understand how to work out the percentage or that he does not understand the language of communication? This is so unbelieveable that a minister of science and technology will have difficulty converting numbers he was familiar with and dealing with to percentage…wonders shall never end.
what a disgrace..
I think it is high time, our lawmakers should be matured in mind in handling matters like this. instead of these series of drama.
De minister should have prepaid. Him self b4 coming to the house or does he tink is a childs play or what ? Gud for working him out so that wen coming de next. Time he will be fully prepaid .I tink others will also learn from it . If drastiic measures r nor taking from dis corrupt officials dey wil collapse our economy
The remote cause of the quarrel is as a result of sharing gone awry!
Not only Remote. Remote and Immediate.
My only joy here is that the need to develop science and technology is a must if NIGERIA is ever will to remain an important nation in the WORLD. Both Minister and Permsec. are not doing their work at all.
Is the minister a mathematician? Why are u pple asking him to do what u know that he cannot do but yet u screened and asked him to BOW AND GO.
The minister is not the only person working in the ministry,,, the ministry has permanent secretary, Directors, Accountants, mathematicians and auditors, so the minister was supposed to have worked with these persons and other personal aids to put figures and records right and be sure of what he was going to present to the house committee before appearing before them….. This goes a long to show the shabby way things are been done in Nigeria and people care little about account-abilities….. The house is doing a good job… If we must get results then we have to stop doing things for formality sake .
This minister shouldnt work anything, i believe he should how progress he has since he took over that governmental department but quiet unfortuniate nigerian ministers, governors and there commissioner know nothing about governing , not even to mention there department there were politically asigned to loot.
The minister is a disgrace.he is a pure mathematitian,he ought to have known that off hand. A profesor of nuclear physics, am ashame of him.
Every individual and group has jurisdiction. You have yours, I have mine. Respect mine, I respect yours. Respect, they say, is reciprocal. My Prof, pls learn what you teach. CONTROL YOUR TEMPER, especially when you pay a visit to an unfamiliar environment.
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Why should he come unprepared when he had been asked such before? Something is wrong somewhere and need to be corrected. Kudos to rhe law maker. We should not of them sharing money that is a negative thought and we will remain were we are until we are positive in our thinking.
until d lawmakers sit up to truely carryout their responsibilities,it will b a total waist for them to represent us
Its quite unfortunate. Our leaders ought to lead by examples, yet they failed in so do. What do they expect the youths of today learn from thier ugly and dissapointing attitude? May God help and guide our leaders right.
Incompetency in office, unqualified certificates, the minister’s inability 2 convert 2 percentage even as a science based prof. Lack of accountability, greed and unpatrotic 2 Nigerians.
Well I’m disappointed by the Prof’s dismal behaviour. The House Committe is not asking too much, if the Minister of Science and Technology is requested to validate his performance claims by converting it into percentage. I don’t think he studied Fine and Applied Arts to become a Minister in the vital Area of Science/Tech., let alone the fact that he is a Profesor. Its just that Nigeria is not a serious Country, otherwise, the Minister deserves to be put behind the Bar, since he cannot substantiate his claims. What is the big deal in percentage conversion, that he would prefer being insulted to doing what is expedient? My advice for this country is to disengage any one above 50 yrs from participating in whatever capacity in Nigerian Politics. Dead-woods should go and let the Youths with robust energies and sound reasoning be given a chance to revive our dying Economy.
Some one should help him do the small calculating instead of scolding at him. Not all are mathematically inclined
funny in deed, he cannot convert into %age his performance, thats shameful 4 a minister of a professor standard. i believe he can convert %age of his share of contract he had awarded to contractors .
Cgeck well d minister bought his result frm oluwole market
I really want to know what the problem is here.
Is it that he as a prof of science and technology cannot make simple mathematical conversions or he just didn’t know that it should be done that way? I’m really surprised
Do u think the conversion is as simple as converting #10000 to percentage. ?
Yes! Government pays lip service to science and technology as evidenced in their failure to accreditate engineering and medicine at the university of Abuja. I wonder! what else are they learning at the university? Little wonder we are unable to manufacture even a bicycle commercially.
Is it that he don’t know or that he deliberately decide nt 2 convert his 2012 budgetary expediture 2 percentage? He is a prof 4 crying out loud, what will it take he 2 do dat, unless he is hiding something. Kudos 2 d house members
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What else can we say. When a Minister of Science & Tech cannot convert his 2012 performance into per cent-ages. Were his aids not around? If it is to share money in the office, he would not need anybody to shout at. Ole!
the law makers are fools,thieves,dunce and criminals that is why the behave like that.it is high time Nigerian government apply some criteria in selecting our law makers,because most of them are pure redundant that don-not know their left nor right
Too bad! How did he get his PhD before being made a Prof? Did he not perform data analysis with simple statistics – percentages, mean, median and mode? And I’m sure he has a long list of “publications”. I weep for Naija!
its obvious that the minister is not taking his duties seriously, otherwise how can he appear before the legislators for a budget defence and he is not prepared to give facts and fgures. this goes to show the lackadaisical attitude with which public office holders go about dong their duties and this largely accounts to why things dont work in this country. Perhaps, it could also be that the minister is string and greedy by not democraticing the “dividends of democracy”. i hope u feel me.
minister cannot do simple conversion. meanwhile, this question was asked in his office b4 meeting wit commitee.
If is to syphone money now, they will be able to do the conversion.
There is no need to develop Science and Technology which are alien to African traditions and customs. We have Africa Magic. Let poorly educated law makers continue to walk out professors. It is just Africans.
Actual Expenditure/Total Budget X 100 gives you percentage. Simple maths. Except if there are other issues. This should not have been a problem for the minister at all.
Is like the man has not been dropping for them to be attacking him that way because they know how to cover up but why didn’t they do it this time or is it the commitment to duty? Na todayyyyy
Here r my submissions: (a) There is more 2 dis dan meets eye
(b) D prof only prepared 4 ‘grammar’ i.e d ‘isms’
(c) may b d prof isnt having a cordial relationshp wit his accountants who could hav ‘schooled’ him on budget presentatn n defence
(d) d members havin known his weak point wanted 2 mek it public by hammering n insisting dat he must convert, thereby embaraz d prof
(e) Reps can u convert urs? Yes/No
(f) dnt wory prof,consult,gram,go back,quote n floor them – as a naija man bt dnt 4get 2 go wt pressmen(who r willing n ready 2 report d retaliation)
(g) i’m only thinking aloud – its only a personal analysis
(h) wen shal dis dirty drama end,now dat they dnt fight demselvz,they fight odaz. ABBA!
(i) Holy Father in Heaven help us
The law makers are rather too hard on the minister. It appears they have something against the minister before the meeting and had prepared to disgrace him. let our law makers treat others as if they were the one. What goes around will surely come around!
The reality of our shame as a nation is that lawmakers insist on “settlement” before these budget defences are allowed to go through successfully. Any time the honourable members are seen in the media pretending to be tough & thorough, then they have not been settled satisfactorily.
The minister could have given them any rate without much ado about verfication of same.
Aru n’eme! Adieu Nigeria!
0/2 * 100/1 hahaha am laughing for abuja leaders. ndi oli na ndi ama. soon 9ja will divide this is geeting out off hand.A country 100 graduate with Phd are searching for driving in Dangote company but Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. cannot converted his yearly expenditure into percentage, but he cannot shame. please let him call me i will set a committee who can do that for him since everything in nigerian is involve with committee. haba mumu people. leaders of decaying.
SOME OF THOSE WHO WANT THE MINISTER TO WORK OUT THE PERCENTAGE DID NT PASS ELEMENTARY SIX. THESE REPS ARE BUNDLES OF RUDENESS.
If only people can rightly feel me, then there is really more to this issue than meet the eye. Some of us watched the report over the TV. That the committee members have manouvered their ways into the National Assembly and by so doing formed the panel does not mean they should molest and embarrasse people called for certain enquiry be it burget defence or else. How much conversion do many of them know? Perhaps they planned it that way in order to molest the integrity of the minister who might not have danced well to the tune they know best singing- kick backs- Else how will a professor of Science not know how to convert figures to percentages. I know if he had given a wrong percentage figure having earlier danced to their tune or even on a promise to do so, they would have coverved him up after all the professor was screened by them or people like them before being given the appointment. My people, do not mind all these our leaders they are the same. May God salvage us from their anticks and corrupt tedencies. Amen.
Nigeria is d only country where profs can’t solve elementry mathematics problems.Corruption is very 4 any country
Henceforth Reps me nothing & dont Prof me
Please my good friends,i graduated since 2009
i been searching for a decent job but to no avail…i need who God will touch to help me get something doing,ready to relocate to any part of the country..believe it or not i will deliver to any kind of work.
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Very amusing indeed. At least one thing is certain, our minister of Science and Technology is incapable of understanding basic maths. However, he is a BIG MAN.while in Office. Thank OBJ for one thing, he may be crude in his expression, but he did point out to us that Political Office in Nigeria was a do or die affair. The honorable Professor should decline his appointment ab initio, rather than get himself in to this kind of public embarrassment. Looking at the caliber of the people in the House Committee, they are sons and daughters of school teachers.I am not surprised at their public orientation on matters of this nature.
What are the issues involved? Is it convertible there and then? Does he need some mathematical aids to do it? Let’s not criticize without getting all the facts. It’s only half baked ones that looks for opportunities to embarrass people in this manner.
The members of the House of Reps should be more civil in handling crucial matters as such, the use of crude language to an elder, a Prof serving his father’s land is uncalled for . Those of you saying all sorts of foul language against the minister, should understand that there ‘re questions that look rhetorical in nature that need no answer. Don’t you think it’s even easier representing his figures in percentage to the house? Being a Prof to assume that height is not a child’s play. Also, understand putting all the figures in percentage demands other analysis which may not be in his disposal at the moment. It is better to keep mute or refuse answering that question, than giving a wrong info which may lead to more public embarrassment knowing how the house operates.
At a time that computer usage has become the in thing it is baffling that the minister and his team could’nt use their laptop and excel to provide such percentages. Since the House of Rep appear sympathetic to the ministry, some fair analysis through such percentages would have helped argument in favour of augmenting the budget of the ministry.
I dont want to believe that the minister and the bureaucrats in the science and tech ministry do not know that budgetary figures mean nothing unless related to the amount appropriated.
A “minister” a professor to be precised tried to convert his budget performance into Percentage but couldn’t as a result of inablity and was walked out by the house members. No, it is not funny but shameful’ pls i urge our public office holders to sit up on issues like this to aviod this type of national insult next time.
Whether it is in professional or political position,the minister is a true representation of what is wrong with Nigerians.They prefer title and financial benefits instead of dedicating time and efforts to do their jobs properly.
Unfortunately,the people making demands are not better than the minister.It is a hopeless situation.
You will think when a minister visit the House to present his budgetary statistics and advance well articulated reasons why his ministry’s allocation should be increased, he will have all the nuances detailed in plain numbers and language. What is a budget anyway, if not numbers and percentages?. It is a big deal if a sitting minister cannot justify the money he is asking for. This is story of nigeria, and its attitude that anything goes. For all the rhetoric, Speaker Tambuwal’s House has become the only House of reps in the recent memory that can be said to live up to the functions and responsibilities of that arm of govt. Whether you agree or not, at least in full face of it, it appears that that is what they are doing. It is open to debate whether they are doing it under an ulterior guise or not. Even though, Tambuwal is not a lawyer by profession, it does appear that he understands the role of the Legislature arm as a mechanism for checks and balances far more than our so called lawyers, PH. D political scientists . Those of you who wants to tilt the debate as tribal in nature, simply informs the problem with the nation: every debate is reduced to Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Efik or Ijaw brouhaha, and its regrettable. I think with all the signs he has shown, no one, I mean no one, is more qualified to assume the next presidency than Mr. Tambuwal, This young man may be Nigeria’s Obama version. Lets begin to do away with tribal politics if we must move this country an inch of progress, tribal politics can never advance our quest for a greater and respectable nation.
the lawmakers simply want there own percentage share of the budget from the ministry, it is also an insult to ask a minister to stand before the lawmakers to do calculations that involves millions of naira withouth using calculator. I also believe that none of these lawmakers can easily tell us the percentage of the approved 2012 budget that goes to there private salaries, allowances etc. And finally our lawmakers are not civilized bcos what they should have done is to request for the percentage, make some recomendations and reschedule the meeting for another day and not to constitute a nuisance in our counttry. Thank u @edwinonyenuchie@yahoo.com
this minisster is a real professor bcos its not easy to be a professor in the field of science and technolodies, Even money cant buy it, if u doubt it then try it ur self. I also disagree that the minister disgraced his self by not doing the calculation in the presence of the lawmakers rather he was provoked and finally wwalked away to show the law makers that he is too big to be small. I think the minister is man enough because his knowledge is his power!! ‘lawmakers i no go give una any share of this money and i no send u lawmakers and if worse gets to worst, i will resign, i no send you at all and i no even see una face sef!!!!
Prof, don’t mind them. They don’t know that as a Nuclear physicist you can throw an “atomic bomb”at them from inside your office?
We have had a minister who could not recite the national anthem very well pass the screening of the so called hallowed Chambers of the senate. Now we are seeing a prof minister who cannot do simple percentage conversion of his ministry’s expenditure budget of 2013. We hope to see more.