President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the government will not budget in a “vacuum” for State House agencies next year.
Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Gbajabiamila said funding to agencies would be based solely on requirements.
This followed a one-day fact finding tour of some government agencies under the supervision of the State House.
Gbajabiamila visited the Nigeria Agriculture and Land Development Agency (NALDA), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
He was accompanied by the deputy chief of staff, Sen. Ibrahim Hadeija; permanent secretary, State House, Olufunso Adebiyi; and senior special assistant to the president on administration and operations (office of the chief of staff), Oyinade Nathan-Marsh.
“In any country in the world, resources are limited. For us it is about prioritising. Where are we so far? What have the agencies done?” Gbajabiamila said.
“How have they measured up to their mandates and how important are their mandates in terms of the vision of this administration and the Renewed Hope Agenda?
“A lot of agencies are not properly funded. Do we merge some of these agencies, do we scrap some? I’m not talking about the State House agencies.
“In 2025 we are not going to budget in a vacuum. We will budget based on needs assessment.”
Earlier, in separate interactions with heads and staff of the agencies, the chief of staff pledged that the Presidency would ensure better welfare and working conditions of staff within the agencies under the supervision of the State House.
