Transparency and accountability are the hallmarks of good governance. Unfortunately, these are threatened in Nigeria by the approval and execution of multiple budgets in a fiscal year. AZIMAZI MOMOH JIMOH reports that both arms of the National Assembly are receiving knocks for approving the running of multiple budgets concurrently just to satisfy the executive’s requests.
One of the crucial functions of the National Assembly (NASS) is the appropriation of funds for the running of government. This is settled in the dictum that “Appropriation is one of the key components of legislative oversight which earns the legislature power of the purse.”
However, lapses or failures in the process of budgeting, or appropriation should be blamed on the National Assembly because as stated in Section 81(4) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended): “No money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the Federation, except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly.”
The NASS also has a duty to ensure the strict application of fiscal integrity, which dictates that the government and all its organs and agencies must comply with financial management, accounting, and auditing. It is also to report procedures and facilities’ management procedures as required by state and federal laws and regulations in a forthright, and timely manner.
It is against this background that stakeholders view the running of “multiple budgets” within a fiscal year under different guises as tardy and difficult to justify because of its capacity to create confusion, limit transparency, and narrow the execution bandwidth.
It has equally been argued that the development, unwittingly, reveals that the government is still struggling to get to grips with the basics of diligent planning and implementation.
In December 2023, both Chambers of the National Assembly extended the implementation period for the capital component of the budget from December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024, along with the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget passed in November 2023.
Earlier in March, following requests made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, both chambers extended the implementation period for the budgetary appropriations from March 31 to June 30.
With just four days remaining until the June 30 deadline for the affected 2023 budgetary appropriations, the two chambers cut short their recess to hold separate sessions to consider further extensions ahead of their previously set resumption date of July 2.
Meanwhile, the 2024 appropriation of N27.8 billion was also running amidst all the extensions while President Tinubu was already drafting a supplementary budget 2024 for transmission to the National Assembly.
Tinubu had informed the leadership of the National Assembly in May that he would submit a supplementary budget for their consideration. During his brief appearance at the joint session in May, the President noted that with the expeditious passage of the last budget, the executive was walking the talk.
“I will soon bring the 2024 Supplementary Appropriation Bill. That is just for your information,” the President said at the joint sitting to mark the Silver Jubilee of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Responding, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, gave his nod, assuring him that his request would be granted without inhibition.
“Mr President, we would be expecting the Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2024 as soon as possible,” the former Akwa Ibom State governor said on that occasion.
Without a doubt, confusing multiple budget operations is a travesty of decisions and traditions, which the National Assembly itself had instituted and operated for a long time.
A framework for inclusive budgeting adopted at an international seminar organised by the National Assembly, in August 2009, clearly pledged commitment to participation, transparency, and accountable governance at the highest levels of political leadership, and to address the barriers of extreme hierarchy and top-down power at all levels of society.
It also made a commitment to wage a war on corruption at all levels, and to ensure that budgets are explicit and formulated in a manner that addresses the well-being of Nigerians.
In giving its consent to multiple budgets within one year, the National Assembly also shot itself in the foot by taking an action that negated its decades of efforts to strengthen the country’s budgeting process in such a manner as to promote good governance.
The failure to mete out sanctions against indiscipline in the management of N107 trillion loans so far approved for good governance has also increased the country’s economic woes.
The 1999 Constitution that empowers the National Assembly to scrutinise and approve loans for the Federal Government also empowers it to investigate and sanction cases of mismanagement of such loans.
But for over two decades, the two chambers have been struggling to enact a law to establish the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO). The Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti), while representing the NABRO Bill in February, informed lawmakers that the bill sought to create an independent institution with the responsibility of providing a comprehensive analysis and research support related to fiscal matters and budgetary decisions to the National Assembly.
Bamidele explained that the intended goal of NABRO was to provide the National Assembly with a non-partisan analysis of budget proposals, research, and economic and fiscal matters, and support lawmakers in their legislative duties concerning budgetary and economic processes.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), an NGO with a special interest in strengthening the legislature through advocacy, lamented that through the commercialisation of votes and other forms of election manipulation, the wrong people who do not have a thorough grasp of the concept of people’s representation were always elected into parliaments across the country hence the compromise of people’s interest by the National Assembly.
Its Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, observed that excessive and unquenchable greed by politicians has put the interest of ordinary Nigerians in jeopardy.
For now, forget it. There is nothing like legislators representing their constituencies. They are taking instructions from the executive, and that is very overwhelming. They cannot resist anything. If any of the legislators speaks on the contrary, he would be banned, or even suspended. So, it is a conquered legislature. Only through good, transparent, accountable, and responsible governance can get us out of this quagmire,” he added.
A former member of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Yusuf, expressed concerns over the decline in the quality of representation in the National Assembly, a development that he noted, has affected the value of governance to the people of Nigeria.
“For me, the 10th Assembly is not what it should be because of the manner it came, and it is unfortunate. The quality of men and women who are being recruited from Nigerian society is a reflection of where we are as a people. They didn’t come from Ghana; they are Nigerians. So, the quality of representation has been on the decline because those who are coming are ill-equipped.”
Also baring his mind on the development, the National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that the National Assembly lost its moral voice the moment it received exotic Sport Utility Vehicles from the executive arm of government.
“The National Assembly is responsible for approving all the draconian policies that have been churned out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), including the floating of the naira. This led to the weakening of the purchasing power of the national currency, and the immediate implication is multidimensional poverty occasioned by an increase in the prices of items and essential commodities.
“The National Assembly has failed in its oversight function that would have prevented the large-scale corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that made Nigeria lose $1.5 billion under the guise of embarking on the turn-around maintenance of the four publicly owned refineries. To date, not one refinery is working.
“The National Assembly did not stop the unprecedented rise in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (fuel), which has led to massive poverty and hunger among Nigerians. So, the National Assembly is more of a liability than an asset,” Onwubiko stated.
In light of the foregoing, many say that the practice of implementing four budgets concurrently is fraught with danger. The principle of checks and balances presupposes that even if the Presidency insists on taking wrong steps or going against time-tested principles in the financial system, the legislature, which is constitutionally empowered to prescribe how monies are spent, should rise to the occasion and call the executive to order.
However, observers of the National Assembly believe that the current crop of legislators has taken the idea of collaboration between the executive and legislature to a destructive level.
The Country Director of BudgIT, Gabriel Okeowo, described as a serious anomaly, the simultaneous implementation of four budgets. According to him, standard practice should be that projects not catered for within a fiscal year are rolled over to the budget of a new fiscal year. This has been done by previous sessions of the National Assembly. Why the sudden change of practice? He asked.
The Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, described the implementation of four national budgets running concurrently as a recipe for chaos and frivolity. He added that it was a flagrant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.
According to him, “All available evidence has confirmed that the Nigerian government is implementing four national budgets concurrently. This intentional action will lead to frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.
“Implementing four national budgets concurrently also indicates that the leaders are out of touch with reality and lack the competence to manage our country’s finances effectively. Unfortunately, this deliberate act of fiscal recklessness is being undertaken by elected representatives of the people, thereby betraying one of the cardinal pillars of democracy. Leaders are elected to responsibly manage public resources in an organised manner.
“I respectfully appeal and in fact, demand that this situation be reversed immediately in preference for a more responsible and transparent approach to budgeting. We must prioritise the needs of Nigerians, not the selfish interests of a few.”
“This is a call to action for all leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos. Neither the National Assembly nor the executive has any excuse to promote or condone such unconscionable behaviour.
“We seek and insist on a nation governed by leaders who are frugal and responsible in their handling of public resources. This is the only way that we can build a great nation,” Obi stressed.
Implementing four national budgets concurrently also indicates that the leaders are out of touch with reality and lack the competence to manage our country’s finances effectively. Unfortunately, this deliberate act of fiscal recklessness is being undertaken by elected representatives of the people, thereby betraying one of the cardinal pillars of democracy. Leaders are elected to responsibly manage public resources in an organised manner
