The Nigerian Senate issued a stern warning on Thursday, stating that the heads of ministries, departments, and government agencies who fail to attend the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) interactive sessions should face dismissal.
The upper legislative chamber emphasized the compulsory physical presence of government agency heads at the MTF/FSP sittings. Furthermore, they appealed to President Bola Tinubu to dismiss any non-committal government officials.
Addressing the audience at the formal opening of the interactive session, jointly organized by the committees on Finance, Appropriations, National Planning, Local, and Foreign Debts, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, remained firm on the decision to terminate the employment of any head of a government agency who neglects the session.
He asserted, “If you don’t plan how to succeed then you have planned to fail. I remind our committee that any serious appointee or any head of any agency that is interested in the success of President Bola Tinubu’s administration ought to be here.”
Akpabio further instructed, “The chairman of the lead committee (Finance) should provide me with the list of all the Heads of Agencies that you invited but failed to attend this session. This marks the beginning of their failure in their respective offices.”
He continued, “Any head of an agency that sends representation here is not a serious person, and therefore, the President must reconsider the appointment of such an individual.”
Concluding with a personal anecdote, he added, “I shelved even my appointment to appear in Owerri today for the final rally of my party and all other schedules to ensure my presence here. It’s crucial for us to strategize on how we can succeed.”
