With Nigerians grappling with a challenging economic climate, a leading civil society organization, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has issued a strong call for the National Assembly to significantly reduce its own budget.
In a letter dated January 13th, addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare urged the legislature to lead by example by “promptly reducing the National Assembly budget of N344.85 billion, to reflect the current economic realities in the country, and cut the cost of governance.
“The increase in the National Assembly budget has raised serious questions in the minds of the Nigerian people about how the lawmakers are spending their commonwealth.
“The National Assembly ought to be more responsible to the public interest and more responsive to it. The National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to combat waste and abuse in its own spending if it is to effectively exercise its oversight functions and hold the government to account.
“Transparency and accountability in public administration is an essential element of democracy. Transparency in the spending of the National Assembly budget would give the public a tool to hold the lawmakers accountable. It would also protect Nigerians from any potential abuses of governmental or legislative power that may exist,” SERAP said.
This demand comes on the heels of the National Assembly’s recent decision to increase the 2024 Appropriation Bill from the initial N27.5 trillion proposed by President Bola Tinubu to the current N28.7 trillion. Notably, the legislature’s own allocation within the revised budget stands at N344.85 billion, raising concerns about its appropriateness in times of economic distress.
SERAP argues that in the face of widespread hardship, with many Nigerians struggling to meet basic needs, it is incongruous for the National Assembly to maintain such a high budgetary allocation. The organization asserts that the legislature must demonstrate sensitivity to the plight of the citizens it represents by reducing its own spending and channeling resources towards critical sectors like healthcare, education, and infrastructure development.
This call for budgetary adjustment reflects the growing public sentiment around the perceived opulence of government spending, particularly regarding legislative expenses. With inflation soaring and unemployment rising, the disparity between the economic struggles of ordinary Nigerians and the perceived extravagance of their elected representatives is fueling frustration and demands for accountability.
