Concerned about the prevailing economic conditions in the nation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the leadership of the National Assembly to reduce the budget allocated to lawmakers and other line items of the budget
TheNewDiplomat recalls that in December 2023, the National Assembly approved the 2024 Appropriation Bill, increasing the total amount to ₦28.7 trillion from the initial ₦27.5 trillion proposed by President Bola Tinubu towards the end of November.
Apparently disturbed about the economic situation, in a letter dated January 13 and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP accordingly urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to expeditiously revise the National Assembly budget of N344.85 billion.
The aim, according to SERAP, is to align it with the prevailing economic conditions in the country and curtail the expenses associated with governance.
The group also wants them to “request President Bola Tinubu to present a fresh supplementary appropriation bill, which reflects the reduced National Assembly budget for the approval of the National Assembly.”
SERAP also urged the National Assembly leadership to “promptly 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.”
SERAP, however, cautioned that failing to reduce the arbitrary increase in the lawmakers’ budgetary allocation would result in substantial fiscal repercussions and worsen the nation’s debt crisis.
“The unilateral and self-serving increase by the lawmakers of their own allocation also offends the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances and the notion of the rule of law,” the letter read.
“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 own 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.”
