… as stakeholders harp on forex stability
Not less than N151.5 billion can be saved in the 2017 budget if frivolous and wasteful items are expunged from this year’s appropriations bill.
Citizens Wealth Platform, a coalition of non-governmental organisations, stated this Monday in Abuja at the opening of the three-day public hearing on the 2017 budget held at the instance of the joint Committees on Appropriations.
Declaring open a three-day public hearing on the N7.3 trillion 2017 budget proposal, Senate president, Bukola Saraki, however, admitted that the current state of the national economy had put more pressure on the legislature to ensure a very credible budget process that would avoid wastes.
Lead director, Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, who compiled the items, queried sub-heads of 64 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) totalling N151.5 billion, which he categorised as “inappropriate and unclear line items.”
The report also recommended a serious reduction in the budget of the National Assembly stating that “the total vote of N115 billion for the National Assembly in the 2017 budget could be reduced to N110 billion in the spirit of the austere times and to demonstrate solidarity with the Nigerian people who are suffering and going through untold hardship.”
Some of the line items and the wasteful expenditure include: Budget expenses and administration N18,240,194, already covered in the personnel vote of the State House; purchase of kitchen equipment for State House Headquarters worth N100,820,300.
He wondered why the same line item was repeated in less than 12 months when N80,255,070 was appropriated for in the 2016 budget.
Onyekpere submitted that N77,545,700 budgeted as Residential Rent was uncalled for, adding that the ‘landlord’ of the State House ought to have been disclosed.
He also said rehabilitation of fixed assets (general) N5,847,384,012 should be reduced by 50 percent.
Others are Computer Software Acquisition by Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) put at the sum of N23,057,363, which should be reduced by 50 percent.
According to Onyekpere, the establishment of ICT University under the Ministry of Communication Technology with the the sum of N166,665,000 is uncalled for, adding that “It will be another poorly funded Federal university. ICT studies can be done in existing universities if they are properly equipped. This vote should not be wasted.”
Noting that Nigeria is at a crucial stage in her national development, Saraki stated “the current state of the economy is needing of, among others, a credible budget that will stimulate real economic activities, fix our critical infrastructure and provide cushion for the poor and vulnerable. The challenge, however, is how best to ensure that the budget is utilised as an effective policy in achieving these.”
He expressed optimism that the 2017 capital budget proposal will support activities that will help to speed up the diversification of the economy through the promotion of the non-oil sector via agriculture, manufacturing and services as well as engender private sector partnership in infrastructure.
In his remarks, Speaker Yakubu Dogara explained that the Legislature cannot abdicate this onerous constitutional responsibility of power of the purse, “no matter the degree of intimidation and blackmail the Legislature is subjected to by persons who want to cow the Legislature and brazenly put our democracy in a recession.”
While stressing that the public hearing came at a time of heightened public expectations, given our experiences with the processing and implementation of the 2016, the Speaker expressed optimism that the outcome of the public hearing “will help address the flaws associated with our annual budgets.”
Dogara, who noted that National Assembly has legislative control over public fund as provides in section 80(1) of the Constitution, added that Section 80(2-4) also stipulated the principle of Appropriations Control, prohibiting expenditure of any public money without legislative authorisation.
According to him, the Principles of the Public Fisc and of Appropriations Control also impose an obligation on the National Assembly itself.
“National Assembly has not only the power but also the duty to exercise legislative control over federal expenditures. As a necessary corollary, the National Assembly is the repository of the obverse power, the power to prevent public expenditure except as authorised by it.
“It is always baffling to listen to some self acclaimed pundits who are apparently ignorant about the workings of our constitutional order, argue that the legislature cannot touch the estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year which the President lays before National Assembly each year. These pundits may be ignorant about the very nature and exercise of ‘executive power,’ which by our Constitution must be deliberate and limited.
“Except where the Constitution grants powers or duties to the President, executive governing authority must be created by legislation. Therefore the exercise of any executive power by the President, or any member of the executive not expressly conferred on him or them by the Constitution or Act of Parliament is ultra vires his powers. There is nothing known as executive appropriations of public funds under our Constitution or laws.
“As a consequence, no Legislature worth its salt, such as ours, will ever abdicate this onerous constitutional responsibility no matter the degree of intimidation and blackmail the Legislature is subjected to by persons who want to cow the Legislature and brazenly put our democracy in a recession. The Legislature, which is the most immediate representative of our people, must and will always exercise its powers for the general good.
He noted that members of the House are keen on reforms of the budget process to ensure a more transparent and accountable system.
In his presentation, Obadiah Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stressed the need for the apex bank ensure effective regulation of the commercial banks in the bid to get the country out of recession.
“If you have a recession, you have to open a situation room, where experts will be monitoring the economy daily. These experts will work to on ways to get the country out of the situation.”
He also emphasised the need to stabilize the foreign exchange adding that the naira “will continue to plunge down forever,” if necessary measures are not put in place by the regulatory institutions.
Mailafia also tasked the National Assembly on the need to structure the budgetary process that the budgetary in a way that would ensure rapid economic recovery.
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