Reps Step Down NACETEM 2026 Budget, Seek DG’s Removal

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 and for not submitting required documents.

During the 2026 budget defence session in Abuja, Chairman of the committee, Inuwa Garba said that if President Bola Tinubu could personally present the national budget, no appointee should consider themselves too important to honour the legislature.

The Chairman warned that the committee would not tolerate any act perceived as disrespect to the Constitution, the Legislature, or democratic governance, and that the decision would serve as a deterrent to other officials.

The panel also criticized the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology, NiCFOST, over low internally generated revenue, which stood at 385,000 naira in 2024 and 285,860 naira in 2025, and questioned a rise in overhead costs from 95.4 million naira in 2025 to 195.73 million naira proposed for 2026.

NiCFOST Registrar Veronica Nkechi-Eze said revenue comes from registration fees and annual dues from roughly 10,000 members but could not explain the sharp increase in overhead costs, noting it was not part of the figures originally submitted to the Budget Office.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji