Bagudu calls for collaboration among arms of Government

Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning has called for collaboration among all government arms and agencies to achieve the sustainable financial management required for national development.

The minister spoke on Thursday in Abuja during a high-level interactive session on sustainable financial management and national development attended by members of the National Assembly and heads of government ministries, departments and agencies.

He said that without collaboration, opportunities for shared knowledge to improve the delivery of government policies and programmes might be lost.

“Moments like this provide opportunities for exchange of ideas and knowledge,” he said, explaining that although the three arms of government are independent, the 1999 Constitution as altered bounds them to cooperate for the betterment of the people.

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He said, “Chapter 2 of the Constitution, which defines our fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policies, commands all those in authority whether executive, legislative, or judicial to observe, conform, and seek the achievement of those stated objectives. So if we are looking for a command that unifies all those in power, that is it.”

Besides the constitutional basis for cooperation, Bagudu pointed out that sustainable financial management for growth in a changing world with changing instruments and a rising population was impossible unless there was knowledge-sharing among public officers responsible for policy implementation.

He commended the collaboration between the National Assembly and the executive, explaining that it was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s charge to his ministers that they must always cooperate with the federal legislature.