The Role of Nigerian National Assembly in the Budget Process

THE ROLE OF NIGERIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN THE BUDGET PROCESS A PAPER WRITTEN BY DANIEL OMOLEWA OGUNSOLA APRIL, 2009 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 3 2. Introduction 4 3. Balance of Budgetary Powers 5 4. The National Assembly in Nigeria’s Budget Process 7 4.1. Legal Framework 8 4.2. Institutional capacity 10 4.2.1 Effective Appropriation Committee Capacity 10 4.2.1 Establishment of a Budget Office 10 a. Journey So Far 11 b. Challenges 11 c. Prospects 11 4.3 Political Will of Individual Legislators 11 5. Budget Implementation 12 6. Conclusion 14 1. Executive Summary The paper seeks to analyse the three identified variables as determining the actual role of the Nigerian legislature in the budget process. The†¦show more content†¦Also, Nigeria’s quest to meet the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) is frustrated by this development. 3. Balance of Budgetary Powers When presenting the 2006 budget to the National Assembly, the then Senate President, in his speech stated that â€Å" The National Budget is an important policy tool, hence the constitution requires Mr. President to present, and the National Assembly to approve, estimates of the revenues and expenditures of the Federation for the next financial year, which in Nigeria follows the lunar year. The power to approve includes the power to analyse, debate, amend and enact into law the estimates presented by Mr. President. The principle of separated institutions sharing power† is clearly illustrated in budgeting†. During the 2009 budget cycle, the legislature not only reduced some important expenditure items as proposed by the executive, the National Assembly also took liberty to increase allocation for several items and introduce several new items into the budget. The National Assembly, as stated by the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, however made effort to comply with overriding macro-economic projections of the executive and endeavoured to stay within the general principle of the budget. In my own opinion, the legislature pushed the frontiers of citizens, pro-poor budgeting a step further, by inserting development projects to be cited in each federal constituencyShow MoreRelatedCorruption Of The Silent Killer Essay1533 Words   |  7 PagesNigeria is the oil sector; it is also the sector with the most corruption. Officials shorten the revenue gotten from oil import and export, leaving the nation in a serious state of crisis and debt. The Central Bank of Nigeria reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Co-operation (NNPC) has not paid a sum of twenty billion dollars ($20 billion) (Thisdaylive). In addition, recent statistics have shown that the debt woes of the nation are increasing further as the economy depreciates(vanguard). 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