SERAP Asks National Assembly To Cut N344.85bn Budget
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A group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the National Assembly to reduce its budget of N344.85 billion, to reflect the current economic realities in the country and cut the cost of governance.
SERAP, which made the demand in an
open letter addressed to both the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, insisted that if the
budget is not cut it would have significant fiscal consequences and exacerbate
the country’s debt crisis.
The civil society organisation also
demanded the lawmakers to send a request to President Bola Tinubu to present a
fresh supplementary appropriation bill which would reflect the reduced budget
for the approval of the National Assembly.
It also asked the leadership of the
Assembly to promptly publish details of the National Assembly budget of N344.85
billion, 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.
In the letter dated 13 January 2024
and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said
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.
SERAP stated 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.
It however stated that if it does not
receive a response in seven days shall take all appropriate legal actions to
compel them and the National Assembly to comply with their request in the
public interest.
The letter reads in part, “the
increase in the National Assembly budget 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. The National
Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to combat waste and abuse in its
spending 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.
“Nigerians have a right to scrutinise
how their lawmakers spend their tax money and commonwealth, especially given
the precarious economic realities in the country and the impact of the removal
of fuel subsidy on vulnerable Nigerians.
“Cutting the N344.48 billion National
Assembly budget would be entirely consistent with your constitutional oath of
office and the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution," SERAP
stated.
The civil society organisation
maintained that cutting the budget would promote efficient, honest, and legal
spending of public money. It would serve the public interest and restore
confidence in the National Assembly.
SERAP also urged the National Assembly
to clarify the details of the N8.5 billion budgeted for ‘National Assembly
liabilities’ and to disclose the nature of any such liabilities and how and why
they have been incurred.
It also urged the lawmakers to clarify
why N225 million is budgeted for the National Assembly E-Library and N3 billion
is budgeted to buy books for the National Assembly Library while the ‘take-off
grant’ for the National Assembly Library is N12.1 billion.
“The budget of N344.48 billion by
members of the National Assembly is a fundamental breach of the Nigerian
Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations.
“According to our information, the
National Assembly increased its allocation in the 2024 budget to N344.48
billion. The new budgetary allocation to the National Assembly is over 70 per
cent of the N197bn proposed by President Bola Tinubu for the lawmakers in the
budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly.
“The N344.48bn National Assembly
budget, which is an increase of about N147 billion, is reportedly the
highest-ever budgetary allocation to the National Assembly.
“The breakdown of the N344.48 billion
National Assembly budget is as follows: National Assembly Office – Senate –
N49.1 billion; House of Representatives – N78.6 billion; National Assembly
Service Commission – N12.3 billion; Legislative Aides – N20.3 billion; NILDS –
N9.09 billion; Service-wide votes – N15.1 billion; Senate Appropriation
Committee – N200 million.
“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.”
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