N30.1bn lawmakers’ budget: CSOs condemn NASS
Some Civil Society Organisations have condemned the budgetary allocations of N30.1bn for severance packages and the inauguration of the 10th Assembly.
The National Assembly on Wednesday increased the 2023 budget proposal from N20.51tn to N21.82tn and passed it, indicating an increase of over N1.3tn against the N20.5tn proposed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, (Retd,), in October.
Buhari had on October 7, 2022, presented a budget proposal of N20.51tn to the
parliament with a deficit of N10.782tn. He also noted that the 2023 budget would be funded by foreign loans.
Under the N967.48bn statutory transfers, the National Assembly Office has N30.492bn; the Senate got N33.267bn; the House of Representatives, N51.994bn; National Assembly Service Commission, N10.555bn; legislative aides, N16.520bn; general services N11.307bn; National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, N7.411bn.
Others are: N30.173bn for severance/inauguration of outgoing and incoming 9th and 10th Assembly legislators; N10bn for construction of NASC building; N2.5bn for completion of the NILDS headquarters etc.
The new figures N228.1bn approved for the National Assembly as against the proposed N169bn by the president, revealed a surge of N59.1 bn in the lawmakers’ allocation.
Despite an initial increase by the President from N125bn in previous years, to N128bn for 2021, N134bn for 2022 and N169bn for 2023, the lawmakers still did an upward review of their 2023 budget.
Commenting on the issue, the Executive Director, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, noted that it was sad that the National Assembly had to budget such an amount that had nothing to do with the public good.
He said, “It clearly shows that the leadership of the National Assembly is not in tandem with the effective management and utilisation of public funds. They are custodians of national resources in terms of ensuring that money budgeted for is properly utilised.
“They should ensure that money is not wasted, diverted, misappropriated nor (allow) anything that will amount to an abuse of resources. He lamented that they went “ahead to budget such an amount for gratuity in the midst of inflation, recession, economic hardship and stress the country is going through.”
Rafsanjani also lamented that the allocation was even unethical, owing to the fact that the lawmakers are getting monthly salaries and allowances.
He added, “It is absolutely unfair to the country. We are crying about funding education, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been crying for improvement in education and their salaries, and some people are sitting down there budgeting for gratuity.
“What is a severance package if not for another means of stealing and diverting taxpayers’ money? Every month, you get salaries and allowances, so why should you still budget such a humongous amount of money? This is the reason why political violence happens because of these unnecessary monies.”
Rafsanjani added, “There is no way we should be shouting about poverty or lack of funds for development programmes and then we now allowed some few individuals to corner such huge amount of money. Punch
