On December 20, 2012, the National Assembly basked in a rare euphoria of success, when it passed the N4.98 trillion 2013 Appropriation Bill. Members of both the green and red chambers were thumping their chests and crediting themselves for the early passage, promising Nigerians that going forward, the budget of the New Year will be passed before or by the end of December of 2014.
Indeed, it was the first time since 1999 that the budget would be presented and passed in the same year. At the time, members of the House of Representatives, in spite of having issues with the executive over the partial implementation of the 2012 budget, passed the budget and insisted that it must be implemented fully.
The lawmakers insisted that all capital expenditure that were not utilised in the 2012 budget should be rolled over to form part of the 2013 Appropriation Act. Nothing less than that was expected of the National Assembly, which has the constitutional obligation of carrying out oversight functions on the implementation of the budget.
However, the passage of the 2014, 2015 and 2016 budgets have thrown up certain twists that have threatened to imperil the ability of the lawmakers to live up to their promises. For instance, while the 2014 budget was passed on April 11, 2014, the 2015 and 2016 budgets were passed on April 18, 2015 and March 24, 2016 respectively. Without doubt, the importance of an early passage of the budget cannot be over-emphasised, as it makes for a more effective implementation and better management of the economy.
The expectation is that money will be released early in the year so that projects can be timeously implemented. But the effects of the delays witnessed in the last three years are countless and counterproductive. While the development would always take its toll on the government and its agencies, operators in the private sector do also bear part of the brunt. While some government ministries, departments and agencies may run into operational difficulties, a number of ongoing infrastructural projects may also be stalled.
On-going projects like Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Kano Maiduguri road, Abuja-Lokoja road and Sokoto-Kotangora road, among others, may be abandoned for the third time in two years. In the event of this occurrence, for instance, several construction firms, which were paid part of their balance in the third quarter of 2016, might be frustrated to abandon sites again.
To reduce the unending delays in the budget approval process, we urge both the executive and legislative arms of government to take a cue from the United States of America’s budget process.
The importance of an early passage of the budget cannot be over-emphasised, as it makes for a more effective implementation and better management of the economy. The expectation is that money will be released early in the year so that projects can be timeously implemented
As against what obtains in Nigeria where the budget passes through about 13 stages before it is approved, in the US, it passes through only four steps. The President presents his budget proposal for the fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, to the Congress between the first Monday in January and first Monday in February.
While there are no constitutional provisions or established rules that stipulate specific period for various stages of the budget process in Nigeria, the US congressional committees are required to submit their views and estimates of spending and revenues within their respective jurisdictions to the House and Senate within six weeks of the President’s submission. The US budget process is expected to be completed by September 30. But there is no fixed time for the same exercise in Nigeria.
To start with, it would be admirable to see federal lawmakers put in place mechanisms that would encourage the executive to submit its budget proposal for the coming year to the National Assembly by September.
In doing this, the National Assembly would also do well by ensuring that its Budget Office is well-funded and well-resourced to attract and retain some of Nigeria’s finest economic policy specialists, which is very important, if the legislative arm must carry out a proper reordering of budgetary provisions from time to time.
It is our belief that the legislative arm’s moderation of the executive’s excesses should also include setting targets, like oil price benchmarks, overall budgetary expenditure and revenue, for deficits and public debts. We suggest that the NABO should provide lawmakers with periodic forecasts and analyses of economic trends, particularly economic best policies and strategies.
This would help to eliminate delays to a reasonable extent. Although, the 2017 budget, which was presented to the National Assembly on December 14, 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari, suffered yet another impediment of late arrival to the Assembly, the National Assembly has the burden of ensuring that an end is brought to the unwholesome practice of unnecessary.
