FG must change budgeting system to achieve results – Rep. Lar
By Henry Omunu, Abuja
House of Representatives member from Plateau state, Rep. Beni Lar, has advised the Buhari administration to change the current budgeting system if a sizeable percentage of the annual budget is to be implemented to achieve the desired results, declaring that the envelope system is outdated and unworkable.
She asserted that the envelope system of budgeting is the bane of the budgeting process in the country.
Rep. Lar, who spoke on the state of the nation, told newsmen in Abuja at the weekend, that the envelope system which provides expenditure benchmarks for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) was archaic, slow and responsible for Nigeria’s continued failed budget implementation and unnecessary friction between the Presidency and the National Assembly.
The House member stated that the budgeting process can only improve if there is synergy between the executive and the legislature, adding that such an engagement drastically reduce the budget time which is often between 7-9 months.
According to her, the legislature will at no time be a rubber stamp to the executive and as such would require ample time to scrutinize budget estimates before passing them, insisting that the synergy and constant inter-face would assist in the drafting of the budget proposals by the executive, its consideration and eventual passage by the National Assembly.
The former Chairman, House Committee on Science and Technology in the 8thAssembly, stated that things budget objectives can only be achieved when the executive submits to the superior constitutional powers of oversight as donated to the legislature by the constitution.
She therefore, argued that it is when the National Assembly scrutinizes the finances of MDAs during oversight that a detailed understanding of how the agencies faired or implemented funds allocated to them in a fiscal year can avail the legislature insights into how to make the next budget workable and implementable.
In a related development, she lamented that it is the same lack of synergy between the executive and the legislature that was responsible for the high number of bills passed into law by the 8th Assembly that were not assented to by President Muhhamadu Buhari, arguing that majority of the rejected bills would have had great impact on the lives of Nigerians.
She said that the National Assembly must perform its constitutional role of law making, oversight, budget consideration and approval so that the common man and Nigerians are not short-changed.
“The greatest challenge for the National Assembly is when President Buhari declined assent to so many bills. These bills affect Nigerians and as such the President should pass them.
“We have passed laws, but how often are these laws implemented? Without oversight, law-making has no effect. We must not pass laws alone, but ensure it is implemented. The executive doesn’t like us to ask them questions, especially on expenditure. But, it must continue in order to strengthen the powers of oversight.
Rep. Lar, who also spoke on the state of insecurity in the country, opined that insecurity was fast becoming a general thing, adding that “there is a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria. It is a social problem” and blamed the Buhari administration for retaining the same security chiefs for too long
“We can’t get something new from the same old people. They need to be changed,” she added.
