Budget 2020: Senate committee frowns at secret meetings

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Barau Jibrin (APC Kano North), has condemned the closed-door session method being adopted by some of the standing committees in the Senate to carry out 2020 budget defence sessions with heads of the various government agencies under their purview.

Barau, who fielded questions from journalists on the issue yesterday, said budget defence is to be conducted in open session and not secret or closed door as widely reported in the media yesterday.

“Neither the Senate as a body nor the Appropriation Committee coordinating the entire process, gave such a directive to any committee to hold budget defence session in secret with officials from the executive arm of government. I saw the story in the paper today and I’m not happy about it.”I know that such a trend will not continue from next week because Nigerians, right from the budget defence sessions, are supposed to know what and what the parliament and the executive are preparing or planning.

“The budget being discussed or defended by the affected agencies are more or less for Nigerians; the very reason why such assignment should be carried out in the open with attendance of journalists, who are to report the details of what transpired at each of the session,” he said.