Lawan Lists Benefits of January-December Budget Cycle …Explains how N'Assembly will amend Land Use Act

The Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday lamented that Nigeria goes the extra mile annually to fund its overpriced Appropriation Bills.

Lawan, who expressed this concern at the opening of a two-day public hearing on the 2020 Appropriation Bill, also explained that he believes in the arguments of some people that Nigeria is over-borrowing.

According to the Senate president, who was responding to the lecture by Prof. Nazifi Abdullahi Drama titled: ‘2020 Budget: Overcoming the challenges of the infrastructural deficit by sustainable development’, stated emphatically that "our budgets are overpriced, and we are going to do something about it; we need to streamline our procurements."

He added: "Our budgets are ‘over cost’, if there is any word like that. They are overpriced. What may be procured with $10,000 in one country may be procured with $100,000 in Nigeria, knowing that we have a paucity of funds and revenues here. I think the time has come for us to do something about it. I recall that I had once told the minister of finance and budget that we need to streamline our procurement process.

"If 10 agencies of the government need to purchase an item A, they are going to the same market, why should they give us different prices? Why?  So in this budget, our committees will look into that. If you are buying computers and 10 ministries are buying, you must make sure the price remains the same and it is not overpriced.

"The Ministry of Finance has an efficiency unit; we have to work on this. We are not after contractors. We need to have some margins on contractors in their businesses, whether a contractor is a Nigerian or a foreigner, he or she must be concerned with the situation of Nigeria. If you are a Nigerian contractor, which even makes it more mandatory that you must be patriotic in addition to getting your profit."

The current budget cycle of June to May, Lawan said, had created problems for planning and for the proper implementation of the country’s macro-economic framework.

 On the planned return to the budget cycle of January to December, the Senate president said: "The macro framework needs to be reasonably predictable the way it happens in other climes, and it is when the framework is predictable that it can positively influence the micro details in the budget proposal.

"The ninth National Assembly is committed to correcting this anomaly in budget cycle.  As legislators, we have set out to be exemplary in the fulfillment of our core functions, which include legislation, representation and oversight.

"We are assured that it is only a wholesome commitment to these mandates that can give us much-needed growth and development. It is in this light that I commend the zeal of the joint committee members in their bid to open up the budget for critical stakeholders to debate.

 "The critical stakeholders are persons who are also making sacrifices on behalf of the people. They have committed themselves to thinking, researching and proffering suggestions and solutions on behalf of the populace. To this extent, I am confident that a continuous partnership with them will immensely add value to our work."

Commenting on the controversial Land Use reform, the chairman of the National Assembly explained that "there was an effort made in 2007 to 2008 that I think fizzled out. I think there is a lot that needs to be done for consultation with state and local governments because land belongs to them at that level.

"Until there is a buy-in from states, the land reform will be a difficult thing to do. The Land Use Act is in the constitution, and if you have to reform the land use in Nigeria, you have to carry out a constitutional amendment to that effect. Even if you pass it in the National Assembly, the state assemblies have to concur with 24 out of 36.”

He commended individuals, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, the media and the public for their interests in ensuring that these participatory and mutually rewarding processes of public engagement are smooth.

According to him, "Public hearing is about those wishing to be heard. To decide to be heard takes a lot of courage and conviction. In many cases, it is a product of patriotism and a determination to see that the nation progresses.

"Importantly as well, to be heard is a useful element of democracy, especially when it concerns a vital issue like the budget. The budget is critical to economic development and it is even more so for a country like ours, where our economy needs continuous stimulation.

"The importance of a budget proposal in national development cannot, therefore, be overemphasised. This is the reason why inputs have to be all-inclusive as we are now set to do."

Lawan explained that a proposal is about fiscal targets, resource allocation, public expenditure policy, productivity and efficiency, adding that "we also understand that the process is one of passage, mobilisation and execution.

"For them to work well, however, we have to have increased participation, which also amounts to empowerment in the realm of information, awareness and education.

"An improved understanding most times comes through exchange of ideas. It comes in a process of agreement and disagreement. Better awareness or expansion of thoughts could also come through purposeful interactions. Other than this is the fact that public hearing is a legislative tool of participation. Through it, we engage with critical stakeholders and the public, either separately or collectively.

"As representatives of the people, we continuously hold them in high esteem. We do not show this through rhetoric, but through our actions, either as specified by statutes or as we deem right. The overall essence is not just engagement or consultation, but also for the greater good of the people. We promise that as a result, to continuously remain focused".

He, therefore, advised participants at the public hearing "to be open-minded, honest and factual as we have to understand that we have a common goal, which is the economic prosperity of Nigeria, and if we are open-minded and thorough, we surely will be able to arrive at better consensus, and the budget will eventually be enhanced by it.”

Speaking earlier, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, said the purpose of the public hearing was to present to the stakeholders the N10.33 trillion budget proposal as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 8 for stakeholders to examine and have input.

He said what the National Assembly seeks is a buy-in from all stakeholders, stressing that he believed  nobody is a fountain of knowledge, even though the National Assembly is given full authority by the constitution to appropriate.

According to him, nation-building is a joint task "and this is the first exercise that we will be doing because the budget of any country is the blueprint of its economy; it is a basis upon which everything else is built, and for that reason, we thought it proper to hold this joint public hearing.”

Gbajabiamila noted that the National Assembly is seeking an outcome that would reflect the true federal character of Nigeria, where there would be no lopsidedness, and to ensure that everybody had an input at the end of the public hearing.