Budget
By Angela Atabo
Abuja, Aug.16, 2018(NAN) Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) on Thursday urged the National Assembly to do thorough scrutiny of N242 billion budget for the 2019 general election to check duplication and wastage.
Rafsanjani gave the advice at a news conference in Abuja organised by a coalition of 14 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) known as the Civil Society Concerns.
According to him, the group considers the budget as high, adding that it is not in tune with the present administration’s prudent spending and cutting cost of governance.
“We expect that the National Assembly would prioritise the scrutiny of this proposal to ensure to ensure that duplication and wastage are addressed.
“Nigeria has institutionalised the habit of too much money on its electoral process and it is not as if the process will be clearly free of irregularities.
“We spent a lot of money during the 2015 general elections, so why the 2019 budget is still high? Are we saying that we will be buying everything afresh?
“What about the vehicles and equipment used in 2015, our electoral process does not have to be about money-making venture, so there is need to closely look at the budget,“ he said.
Rafsanjani expressed concern that source of funding for the 2019 elections was being delayed by political gimmicks.
He said that the time for the elections had been known since 2015 and a specific date known since January 2018 yet not fund.
“All we see has been the politics of horse trading between the Executive arm and the legislature.“
The executive director urged the legislature to expedite action on the virement and supplementary appropriation, to ensure that INEC receives necessary and timely funding for a hitch-free conduct of general elections.
He called on the National Assembly to expedite action on pending anti-corruption bills to strengthen the fight against corruption in line with its promises to Nigerians.
He said that while the group noted some progress in the anti-corruption fight, it was disturbed that the fight had taken a back seat in recent months.
Rafsanjani said that the 2016 audit report by the Auditor-General of the Federation made damning revelations that should elicit the attention of the National Assembly.
He said that the report showed gross violations of the constitution and financial regulations by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies for non compliance to financial regulations.
The executive director said that the group recommended that the presidency should act on the report of the Auditor-General by sanctioning defaulting MDAs and insisting on zero-tolerance to disregard for financial regulations.
He said that the group also urged the National Assembly to carry out its legislative responsibilities by prioritising the provision of good governance.
“We also call on the Senate to ensure that the current crisis is resolved speedily and amicably in the national interest by rising above affiliations and personal ambition.’’(NAN)
ATAB/DUA
Edited by Dada Ahmed