The Senate Committee on Science and Technology on Wednesday berated the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute for generating only N18m in the 2021 fiscal year.
The panel argued that the amount was less than 10 per cent of the N49bn budgetary allocation.
The salvo was fired by the chairman of the committee, Senator Uche Ekwunife (PDP Anambra Central).
While assessing the agency’s 2021 budget implementation and the 2022 projections, Ekwunife said it was unacceptable for such agency mandated by law to provide consultancy for all construction projects across the country to generate less than 10 per cent of its yearly allocation.
She said, “Your revenue generation is very poor going by your scope of operations and budgetary allocation for required performance.”
In his response, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NBRRI, Prof. Samson Duna, said the agency received only 75 per cent out of its estimate of N49bn in 2021.
He explained that the N18m generated was from journals and tender documents.
Senate probes COVID-19 victim, FUTO ex-lecturer over failed student’s petition
Senate probes Budget Office over N19bn payment without approval
He said the projected budget allocation for the agency in 2022 was N31bn.
Duna stated that operationally, with a staff strength of 530 across the country, the agency had come up with an alternative to cement produced from waste products to help reduce the cost of building and road construction in the country.
He added that the agency was collaborating with the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Federal Road Maintenance Agency and relevant stakeholders in the construction industry to achieve good and affordable roads across the country.
However, the committee members advised the agency to focus on its core mandates of road research to ensure cheap ways of road construction to achieve good and lasting roads across the country.
