Budget Reform Bill Scales First Reading In House of Reps

By Dipo Olowookere

A bill sponsored by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, seeking to reform the country’s budgeting system and punish violators, have scaled through the first reading at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

In 2016, Mr Dogara promised to introduce a series of reforms to the budgeting process to ensure citizens had more participation in the process of passing the appropriation bill by providing more details of the budget.

This followed the controversies that almost marred the 2016 budget, which almost taunted the image of the National Assembly with the budget padding scandal.

On Wednesday, the bill, which seeks to provide a legal framework for the reform of the budget process and proposes serious penalties for violators of the Appropriation Act, passed through the first reading.

When finally passed, the proposed bill will regulate the preparation, presentation, enactment, implementation, monitoring and oversight, and penalties for contravention of the Appropriations Act in each fiscal year.

It will also provide for dispute resolution that may arise between the Executive and the Legislature before, during or after passage of the budget.

The proposed penalties for violation of the Appropriations Act include written reprimand, written warning, suspension from office, surcharge, demotion or reduction in status; denial or promotion, termination of employment, impeachment and for committee chairmen in the National Assembly, removal from chairmanship of committee, among others.

Similarly, the proposed law also provides for rewards for public officers and civil servants for outstanding work which include letter of commendation, certificate of merit, public decoration, with a medal of recognition, recommendation for accelerated promotion, recommendation for national honour and gift in cash or kind among others.

It also provides for “Budget Process Calendar” which stipulates time frame as follows: budget presentation within the first week of September of every year; passage of not later that 2nd week of December and assent for 30th December, among others.