Stakeholders demand constitutional timelines for budget, fiscal act amendment
They also want the National Assembly to speed up the amendment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, to include enforceable sanctions for officials who default in the performance of their roles in the preparation and timely submission of the budget to the legislature at the national and sub-national levels.
These positions formed part of a 10-point communiqué reached at a forum on the constitution amendment process convened by OrderPaper Nigeria. The virtual forum, christened, OrderPaper Parliamentary Engagement Nigeria (OPEN), was supported by the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) Programme of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.
Panelists at the forum were Barr. Victor Muruako, Executive Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC); Prof. Mojeed Alabi, Professor of Political Science & Adjunct Professor of Public Law, Osun State University who is also a former lawmaker; and Mr. Bolutife Oluwadele, Policy Analyst and Chartered Accountant. The communiqué was signed by Oke Epia, Executive Director of OrderPaper Nigeria.
While acknowledging that the irregular passage of and assent to the annual appropriation bill at the national and state levels of government have caused uncertainty in public finance management and delivery of public services to citizens, the forum canvassed for clearly defined time frames.
“It is imperative to institutionalize timeline for the stages of the Appropriation Bill and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) which will be implementable and practicable,” the participants said in a communiqué, saying this will, in no small measure, help the private sector, foreign investors and citizens generally to make effective planning and economic decision-making.
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