Justice ministry’s parastatals bemoan non-release of capital votes for 2017

The agencies’ heads who spoke during the oversight visit of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters in Abuja yesterday, said the release of only 10 percent of their appropriated capital budget has affected the delivery of their mandate to Nigerians. Parastatals that made presentations of their receipts and expenditure for 2017 including, National Law Reform Commission, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Nigerian Law School (NLS), Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACON), however acknowledged receipt of 80 percent of personnel appropriation. According, the Director General of LACON, Joy Bob-Manuel, about N32.3m was budgeted for capital projects out of which only N3m representing 10 percent has been released. Also, making a presentation, the DG for NAPTIP, Julie Okah–Donli, said N1.3bn was budgeted for capital projects out of which only N135m, representing 10 percent, was released. For his part, the DG, NIALS, Professor Adedeji Adekunle (SAN) said the institute has only received 10 percent being N9m of the N95.1m budgeted for capital projects in 2017. The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), who pointed out that the sum of N6.9bn was appropriated for the ministry in 2017 out of which 80 percent was released, assured of prudent utilisation of funds of the ministry. Earlier the chairman of the committee David Umoru promised continued cooperation to overcome the challenges of the ministry and parastatals under it.]]>