Budgetary process: Expert advises NASS on proper interrogation
NAN-HE- 16
Budget
By Cecilia Ologunagba
Abuja, Sept. 26, 2016 (NAN) A financial expert, Mr Eze Onyekpere has advised the National Assembly to do proper interrogation on revenue profile of the country before passing any budget to enhance its implementation.
Onyekpere gave the advice while setting the tone for the Gallery Colloquium on “A Conversation on Reforming the Budgetary Process in Nigeria,’’ in Abuja.
Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, said the Federal Government should not be concerned with figures alone while preparing budget but should merge the budget with revenue.
“`We get concerned about how much we want to spend, how much we want to put in the budget without checking the revenue profile.
“This will lead to a situation where we put more in the budget than the money available to implement the budget
“Prioritisation is key and on the revenue profile, we need to do more of interrogative job as members of National Assembly,’’ he said.
The expert said that this situation came to play in the 2016 budget where the National Assembly passed a budget of N6.06 trillion.
“The budget was passed and everybody was clapping. Where is the revenue to fund the budget?
“Where is the revenue profile of 2016 budget? Was it properly interrogated? If the interrogation was properly done, we would not be thinking about selling national assets to fund the budget.
“We are already in September getting to October and we talking about selling National assets to fund the budget.
“If we sell the assets to implement 2016 budget, which one do we sell to implement 2017 budget?”
Onyekpere, however, emphasised the need for the executive and the National Assembly to work together to implement feasible budget.
He said that even if it was constituency project, one needed to take it to the Ministry, Department or Agency in charge at the point of collating.
“If you take it there at that time and they have to see if it is in tune with the priority of that sector at that time.
“That is spirit of collaboration, early consultation and that is what should precede any budget process.
“So, you need to ask deeper and critical questions on how executive is working and collaborate with them. ,’’ the expert said.
He described the relationship between the National Assembly and the executive as one, saying that they were both working for same purpose and interest.
“I always liken the relationship between National Assembly and the executive as that of husband and wife.
“There is no way if you don’t bring yourself to meet as husband as wife, you cannot have a baby.
“The wife cannot have a baby alone so no one is more important than other,’’ Onyekpere said.
Earlier, Oke Epia, the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of OrderPaper.ng said that budgetary process should involve the citizens.
Epia said the annual budget of the county was far too important to be left solely in the hands of a few privileged members of the political class.
“The budgetary process must be made to be all inclusive,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gallery is an annual colloquium convened by OrderPaper.ng to mark its anniversary in September every year.
It is conceived as a signature programme of the multi-media company and a platform that brings various stakeholders of democratic project together to brainstorm and proffer solutions on legislative and democratic issues (NAN)
CIA/IA
(Edited by Idris Abdulrahman)