Judiciary pressured to make own budget public

There are now heightening calls on the Judicial arm of government to make public its N100 billion annual budgetary details, following the resolve of the Legislative Arm to break age-long jinx of hiding their annual spending.

 

The leadership of the 8th session of the National Assembly had on Thursday via the #OpenNASS platform reeled out its budget details alongside National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS).

 

National Assembly during the consideration of the budget proposal laid before the joint session of the  National Assembly announced the resolve of the Executive to raise the judiciary’s budget from N70 billion N100 billion as part of measures to complement the ongoing war against corruption in the judicial system.

 

Eze Onyekpere of Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), in a chat with BusinessDay stressed it was necessary for the judiciary to expose the detailed spending plans of their annual allocation to avoid the secrecy that goes on in the process.

 

One of the documents seen by BusinessDay on the ‘details of gratuity and pensions for retired Federal judicial officers Appropriation from 2014-2016 and justification for 2017 proposals,’ reflected astronomical increase in the gratuity and pension of retired judicial officials from N1.400 billion in 2016 to N5.200 billion in 2017.

 

Breakdown of the proposed N5.200 billion showed that the sum of N134,414,973.51 is to be paid monthly for a period of one year totaling N1,612,979,682.12.

 

Additional sum of N11,279,245.54 is to be paid monthly for one year totaling N135,350,946.48, while the sum of N2,621,248,145.96 is for payment of arrears of pension review for retired judicial officers pension.

 

The sum of N124,736,527.36 is for payment of 33 percent increase in non-judicial officers pension while N705,648,698.08 is for payment of death benefits and 2017 gratuity and pension.

 

Another document presented by NJC presented to the committee, showed that the total sum of N975 million was proposed for retirement benefits for former Chief Justices of Nigeria for year 2017.

 

From the amount, the sum of N401 million is for construction of houses for seven retired CJN; N84 million for maintenance of constructed residence for plumbing, electrical, maintenance of generating set, maintenance of Air-conditioners, CCTV and fumigation once every quarter for seven houses of former retired CJN at N1 million per month.

 

Onyekpere also stressed the need for the others agencies benefiting from the Statutory allocation including: Universal Basic Education (UBE), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Public Complaints Commission and National Human Right Commission to make public the details of their allocations without delay.

 

While applauding the decision of National Assembly to make the details of its budget available to Nigerians, he maintained that none of the agency or institution under a constitutional democracy had the right to spend public funds in a way and manner unknown to the public who hold the ultimate sovereign power.

 

“We note with regret the failure of the Budget Office of the Federation to publish the approved MTEF-2017-2019 on its website or on any other portal or otherwise making it available to the public. The MTEF on its website is the executive proposal which was amended by the legislature. Information about the revenue estimates available to the public have only been picked from the media. The right to access to information demands that this all important document should be available to all Nigerians.

 

“As soon as the Acting President assents to the approved budget, CSJ will embark on a detailed review of its provisions including identifying frivolities, policy inconsistencies and good points. It will also proffer suggestions for possible remedial action,” he said.

 

Onyekpere who chided the Budget Office of the Federation for failing to publicize the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Policy Paper on its website, promised that the Centre will identify and make public identified frivolities, policy inconsistencies and positive points in the Money bill.

 

The leaders of Nigeria’s federal law makers finally made the 2017 National Assembly budget open to the public, ending eight years of secrecy.

 

Details of the National Assembly budget seen by BusinessDay, showed that whooping sum of N9.4 billion on procurement of unspecified number of utility vehicles and insurance despite economic recession facing the country, has been condemned by civil society organizations and concerned Nigerians.

 

The amount was computed alongside other sub-heads in the total sum of N125 billion for the National Assembly and its subsidiaries, including National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS).

 

Breakdown of the total amount approved for procurement of vehicles and insurance showed that Senate is to expend N2,759,456,000 (out of its N31,398,765,886 total allocation) on procurement of utility vehicle; House of Representatives is to expend N3,845,360,000 (out of it N49,052,743,983 total allocation) on procurement of utility vehicles for House Committees, Presiding and Principal Officers, Clerks and Divisional Heads, while NILS is to expend N237,931,200 on procurement of vehicles (out of its N4,473,813,596 total allocation).

Likewise, National Assembly Service Commission is to expend N224,685,802 on motor vehicles and N43,925,360 on buses (out of its N2,415,712,873 total allocation); National Assembly Office (Management) is to expend N657,394,022 on departmental vehicles, ambulances, pick-ups and staff buses (out of its N14,919,065,013 total allocation).

The total sum of N1,622,763,090 was also approved for insurance cover of the properties/vehicles under the General Service with total sum of N12,584,672,079.

Recall that Speaker Yakubu Dogara had promised that the National Assembly’s bureaucracy had been directed to make public the budget details, sequel to the query raised by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on transparency and accountability on the utilization of public funds.