


Kogiflame
BY SENATOR DINO MELAYE.
Some years back, I call the attention of well-meaning Nigerians as to the most unfortunate and poignant situation we Nigerians have found ourselves where our collective wealth has been consistently looted under the guise of budget padding. I also recalled stating that more than 60% of corruption issues in Nigeria are built and legalized in the budget. It’s impossible to argue the veracity when, out of 115 countries globally, Nigeria is ranked 90th on budget transparency, according to the Open Budget Index (OBI). With Nigeria’s annual budgets laced with fake items running into billions, budget fraud would be nothing but the real foundation of all corrupt practices in Nigeria.
And lately, the internet has been bubbling with the news of an increase in the budget that was passed by the National Assembly. On 29th November 2023, President Bola Tinubu presented the N27.5 trillion budget to the joint session of the National Assembly. The budget has a recurrent expenditure profile of N9.92 trillion, a capital expenditure component of N8.7 trillion, while N8.25 trillion was set aside for debt servicing. Within 30 days, the lawmakers passed the budget, increasing it by N1.2 trillion and bringing the total figure to N28.7 trillion.
Obviously, the lawmakers sacrificed diligence on the altar of speed, and so also was the Commander-in-Chief President Tinubu who signed the bill into law within 48 hours after it was transmitted to him. The Premium Times news reported on 30th December 2023 that the budget was passed after considering a report presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West). The lawmaker explained that the increase in the appropriation was a result of a request for additional funding of items that were not listed in the Appropriation Bill as submitted by President Tinubu. He said the joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation observed inadequate funding in the budgetary allocation of some ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government.
It was on the basis above that the National Assembly raised its 2024 budgetary allocation by 74.23 per cent to N344.85bn. May I humbly remind Nigerians that this will be the highest-ever budgetary allocation to the National Assembly, whose initial allocation in the 2024 budget proposal was pegged at N197.93bn An x-ray at some of the budget, it appears that they have no national significance but an avenue to siphon public funds.
The budget details of the country’s law-making arms include:
the National Assembly Office (N36.73bn);
Senate (N49.15bn);
House of Representatives (N78.63bn);
National Assembly Service Commission (N12.33bn);
Legislatives Aides (N20.39bn);
PAC – Senate (N130m);
PAC – House of Representatives (N150m);
General Services (N30.81bn);
National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (N9.01bn);
Service-Wide-Vote (N15.19bn);
Office of Retired Clerks and Perm. Secretaries (N1.23bn);
Appropriation Committee Department – Senate (N200m);
Appropriation Committee Department – House (N200m);
NASS Library Complex (Take-Off Grant) (N12.12bn);
Procurement of Books for the NASS Library (N3bn);
NASS Liabilities (N9.90bn);
Constitution Review (N1bn);
Completion of NILDS HQ (N4.5bn);
Construction of NASC building (Ongoing) (N10bn);
Alternative Power Supply (Solar Power System) (N4bn);
NASS Zonal Liaison Offices (N3bn);
NASS Pension Board (Take-Off Grant) (N2.5bn);
NASS Car Park Project – Senate (N3bn);
NASS Car Park Project – House of Representatives (N3bn);
NASS Hospital Project (N15bn);
NASS Recreation Centre (N4bn);
Furnishing of Committee Meeting Rooms & Other Offices within the Senate Building (N2.7bn);
Furnishing of Committee Meeting Rooms for House Representatives Building Part I & II (N3bn);
Upgrade of NASS Key Infrastructures (N3bn);
Design, Construction, Furnishing and Equipping of NASS Ultramodern Printing Press (N3bn);
Design, Construction, Furnishing, and Equipping of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) (N4bn).
The new legislative budget is more than what NASS got between 2011 and 2014. The increase in allocation to the Senate and House of Representatives is happening amidst a cost-of-living crisis in the country, with the government telling citizens that the country is facing tough times. The same cost for Senate car park (109 members) and Reps car park (360 members). In other words, a 109-car capacity car park costs the same as 360 cars capacity car park. N15 billion for NASS hospital (a project for 500 people). This project is enough to build one primary health care centre in every local government area in Nigeria. This applies to all the projects listed above.
Sadly, it is the same story through all the ministries, departments, agencies, Parastatals, and even the presidency. Our budgeting system is now an avenue to cheat, defraud the country, and enrich the some few elected principal officers through manipulation of budget numbers and yet try to legalize the act.
The complicity is jaw-dropping, especially when one discovers that the Executive is now defending the actions of the National Assembly. Could it be because the National Assembly is their Alma mater? No wonder at the presentation of the budget, Senate President Godswill Akpabio declared: “Our old boys are running the Executive.” What Nigerians have witnessed so far in this administration is the over-pampering of the lawmakers by President Bola Tinubu’s led administration at a time ordinary Nigerians are enduring the pains of the reform initiatives of his administration like fuel subsidy removal and merger of the exchange rates of the Naira.
The National Assembly has failed in their primary assignment of checking the excesses of the Executive arm of government. The National Assembly has turned a blind eye to a huge sum of money budgeted for imaginary projects. Both now work in partnership in perpetrating this miasma. It has become the case of CHOP MAKE I CHOP. I asked for the umpteenth time. Which way Nigeria? I really want to know. Things have fallen apart. *IN AN UNJUST SOCIETY SILENCE IS A CRIME .
GOD BLESS FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA