The Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said that the National Assembly
introduced public hearings on the budget in order to increase citizen and
stakeholder participation, and to entrench transparency and accountability in
the budget process.
He made the statement on Monday
during the opening session of the public hearing on the 2017 Appropriation
Bill, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria’s democracy since 1999.
Addressing the gathering which
comprised representatives of MDAs, ministries, and civil society organisations,
among others, the Speaker also stated that the public hearing was being held in
fulfilment of the Eighth Assembly’s commitment to reforming the budget process,
given the experiences with the processing and implementation of the 2016 Budget
and the fact that the 2017 Appropriation Bill is currently before the National
Assembly.
He also cited the legislative agenda
of the Eighth House of Representatives concerning budget reforms, which states
that: “The House shall examine the efficacy of conducting public hearings on
the Budget before legislative approval as this exposes the National Budget to
increased citizen and stakeholder participation”.
The Speaker commended civil society
organisations for their efforts towards scrutinising past budgets and
highlighting duplication and wastage, and stated that a similar mechanism will
be adopted by the House.
“Subjecting the annual budget to
public scrutiny at National Assembly will give stakeholders opportunity to make
their inputs and challenge incorrect assumptions in the Budget. This process
will involve the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other professional
bodies.
The National Assembly will benefit
from the research skills of various CSOs and the technical expertise of
professional bodies at the enactment stage of the Appropriations Bill. I am
aware that many CSOs scrutinize the Budget yearly and usually point out areas
of duplications and wastage. We need to institutionalize this mechanism.”
Speaking on the debate surrounding
powers of appropriation, Dogara said; “that legislative control over public
funds is at the foundation of our constitutional democracy has never been in
doubt.”
“Section 80(1) of the Constitution
lays down the principle of the Public Fisc, asserting that all monies received
from whatever source by any part of the government are public funds, and
S.80(2)-(4) lays down the principle of Appropriations Control, prohibiting
expenditure of any public money without legislative authorization. The two
principles are complementary: The Public Fisc principle defines all federal
receipts, while the Appropriations Control principle defines all lawful federal
expenditures.”
“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 authorized by it.”
In reference to pundits who call
into question the powers of the National Assembly concerning appropriation,
Dogara said; “it’s 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.”
In his concluding statement, Dogara
stated that reforms being introduced into the budgeting process will result in
amendment of existing laws.
“We have keyed into the need to enact a Budget Process Law that will set time frames and activity schedules for all participants in the budgeting process. This will require the active cooperation and collaboration of not only both Chambers of the National Assembly but the Executive branch as well.”
“We have keyed into the need to enact a Budget Process Law that will set time frames and activity schedules for all participants in the budgeting process. This will require the active cooperation and collaboration of not only both Chambers of the National Assembly but the Executive branch as well.”
He then called on Nigerians to make
use of the opportunity offered by the public hearing to interrogate the budget
document in order to ensure that the needs and priorities of the people hold
sway eventually.
“Stakeholders in their various
fields of expertise and active players in all aspects of the economy are
invited to make their inputs and assist the National Assembly in passing a
truly peoples’ budget that will set us on the path to sustainable economic
recovery.
SPEAKER DOGARA EXPLAINS WHY NASS CONDUCT PUBLIC HEARINGS ON 2017 BUDGET
Reviewed by Maxwell Jackky Jr
on
23:54:00
Rating:

No comments: