The House of Representatives Committee on Science and Engineering has stepped down the consideration of the 2026 budget proposal of the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM).
The committee also resolved to expunge the agency’s budget from the national appropriation bill and recommend the removal of its Director-General, Dr. Olushola Odusanya, for failing to appear before the panel to defend the proposal and for not submitting required documents for legislative scrutiny.
The decision was taken by the Panel during the 2026 budget defence session held in Abuja.
Chairman of the committee, Inuwa Garba who stated that if President Bola Tinubu could personally appear before the National Assembly to present the national budget, noted that none of his appointees should consider themselves too important to honour an invitation from the legislature.
In a related development, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the 2025 budget
performance and the 2026 budget proposal of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology(NiCFOST).
Lawmakers particularly frowned at the agency’s low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which stood at about 385,000 naira in 2024 and 285,860 naira in 2025.
The committee also queried the sharp increase in the agency’s overhead costs, which rose from 95.40 million naira in 2025 to 195.73 million naira in the 2026 proposal.
Responding, the Registrar of NiCFOST, Mrs. Veronica Nkechi-Eze, explained that the councils only sources of revenue are registration fees and annual professional dues.
In his ruling, the committee chairman said the matter required further scrutiny, adding that the panel would engage the agency further before taking a final decision.
