SCRAP SURE-P .....NASS JOINT COMMITTEE TELLS FG

A Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Petroleum Resources Downstream has called for the scraping of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme(SURE-P) alleging that the agency is duplicating activities being carried out by the  existing Ministries, Departments and government agencies in the country.

The Joint committee came hard on the Presidential committee on Subsidy Reinvestment headed by Christopher Kolade when it appeared before it to defend the 2013 budget proposal at the National Assembly in Abuja. The Chairman of the SURE-P,Christopher Kolade had told the lawmakers that 135 billion naira  was accrued to the agency up till the end of October, 2012  and the money has been channelled into construction of abandoned road projects,health care and skills acquisation programme.

Meanwhile, lawmakers disagreed with the Chairman of the agency saying that the task executed by the SURE-P has already been executed by the existing the Ministries  adding that with the advent of the SURE-P it is an indication that the Federal government has lost confidence in its main Ministries.

Speaking on the matter, a member of the House of Representatives, Peter Akpatason queried the SURE-P for not utilizing the funds to revitalize dead refineries in the country which will benefit Nigerians instead of wasting it on less important ventures.

In his response, Chairman of the SURE-P Committee, Christopher Kolade said it is not the duty of the National Assembly to decide the fate of the program, noting that the power is vested only on the Presidency whether the Program will remain or not.