Self-serving N344.85bn NASS Budget Must Be Cut, SERAP Tells National Assembly

AKPABIO/ABBAS 

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas have been charged to “promptly reduce the National Assembly budget of N344.85 billion, to reflect the current economic realities in the country, and cut the cost of governance.”

The call came from a Lagos-based rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, which equally called on the National Assembly to request President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to present a fresh supplementary appropriation bill, which reflects the reduced National Assembly budget, for the approval of the law-making body.

Furthermore, SERAP charged the duo of Akpabio and Abbas to publish details of the National Assembly budget of N344.85bn, including the proposed spending details of the N3 billion for the Senate Car Park and N3 billion budgeted for the House of Representatives Car Park.”

Referring to its letter dated January 13, and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP maintained that, “Passing appropriation bills that are inconsistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution is a fundamental breach of the constitutional oath of office by the lawmakers.”

In insisting that the arbitrary increase by the lawmakers of their budgetary allocation if not cut would have significant fiscal consequences and exacerbate the country’s debt crisis, SERAP maintained that “The unilateral and self-serving increase by the lawmakers of their allocation also offends the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances and the notion of the rule of law.”

The letter reads in part: “The increase in the National Assembly budget has raised serious questions in the minds of the Nigerian people about how the lawmakers are spending their commonwealth.

“The National Assembly ought to be more responsible to the public interest and more responsive to it. The National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to combat waste and abuse in its spending if it is to effectively exercise its oversight functions and hold the government to account.

“Transparency and accountability in public administration is an essential element of democracy. 

“Transparency in the spending of the National Assembly budget would give the public a tool to hold the lawmakers accountable. It would also protect Nigerians from any potential abuses of governmental or legislative power that may exist.

“The breakdown of the N344.48bn National Assembly budget is as follows: National Assembly Office – Senate – N49.1bn; House of Representatives – N78.6bn; National Assembly Service Commission – N12.3bn; Legislative Aides – N20.3bn; NILDS – N9.09bn; Service-wide votes – N15.1bn; Senate Appropriation Committee– N200m.

“Other budget items include: House Appropriation Committee – N200 million; Public Account committees of Senate and House – N280.7 million National Assembly Library Take Off Grant – N12.1 billion; National Assembly building (ongoing) – N4.2 billion; and National Assembly Liabilities – N8.5 billion.

“Other items include National Assembly E-Library – N225 million; Constitution Review – N1 billion; and Completion of NILDS HQ – N4.5 billion; Construction of NASC Building – N10 billion; Office of Clerks and Permanent Secretaries – N1.2 billion; and Alternative Power System – N4 billion.

“Other items in the National Assembly budget include National Assembly Zonal Offices – N3bn; Senate Car Park – N3 billion; House of Representatives Car Park -N3 billion; and furnishing of committee rooms (Senate) -N2.7 billion; Furnishing of committee rooms (House) – N3 billion; Design, Construction, Furnishing and Equipping of National Assembly Ultramodern Printing Press – N3 billion.

“There are other items in the National Assembly budget: Design, Construction, Furnishing and Equipping of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) – N4 billion; National Assembly Hospital Project – N15 billion; National Assembly Recreation Centre – N4 billion; Procurement of Books for the National Assembly Library – N3 billion; and National Assembly Pension Board (Take-Off Grant) – N2.5 billion.”

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