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.
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