Senate lowers the bar of budget defence

Any parliamentary reporter would be familiar with the terms “executive session” and “closed-door session.”

Non-participants in legislative talks were asked to leave during closed-door or executive sessions so that legislators may discuss sensitive topics.
Issues discussed at this period are required to be done so with the utmost fidei so that no one should learn about it.

Depending on how sensitive the topic is, especially when it comes to matters of national security or matters that are seen to be inciting a crisis among the populace, the secrecy of the subject matter varies.

This is undoubtedly a privilege given to legislators in any country with a bicameral or unicameral government, and how it might be abused depends on the regulations governing information access. Citizens in Nigeria have access to information thanks to the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act. However, the liberality or accessibility shouldn’t go so far as to hurt or harm the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari delivered his final budget to the joint session of parliament on Friday, October 7, 2022, and panel meetings have been going on ever since.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, which is customarily led by an opposition lawmaker, made inquiries before the budget presentation. On the other hand, investigative hearings on Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, frequently held by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, have revealed reckless looting by some heads of government agencies.

Olamilekan expressed worry about the misuse of various Public Procurement Act provisions by some agency heads to the point that the senator threatened to expose the officials in question to anti-graft organizations.

In that enthusiasm, hopes were raised that the 2023 budget paper would be carefully examined, but it wasn’t until later that it became obvious that Senators and members of the ninth National Assembly’s budget defence procedure left much to be desired.

As his presidency comes to a close, President Buhari committed to prioritising security in item 74 of his speech.
True to his commitment, he allocated the largest sectoral sum of N2,562,522,726,788 for security in 2023.

Olamilekan expressed worry about the misuse of various Public Procurement Act provisions by some agency heads to the point that the senator threatened to expose the officials in question to anti-graft organizations.

In that enthusiasm, hopes were raised that the 2023 budget paper would be carefully examined, but it wasn’t until later that it became obvious that Senators and members of the ninth National Assembly’s budget defence procedure left much to be desired.

As his presidency comes to a close, President Buhari committed to prioritising security in item 74 of his speech.
True to his commitment, he allocated the largest sectoral sum of N2,562,522,726,788 for security in 2023.

Unfortunately, discussions on the security budget were taking place out of the public eye and away from journalists.
The whole discussion of the security budget was handled behind closed doors.

As a result of the closed-door sessions involving the Senate Committees on the Army, Air Force, Navy, Defence, Internal Security, and the Interior, reporters were kept in the dark and may not have been able to monitor departmental allocation to hold responsible parties accountable.

The Senate Committee on Navy, led by Senator Sekibo, held its budget defence last week, but the meeting was abruptly adjourned into a closed-door session after the stage had been set with the attendance of media and Naval officials.

Nothing else was spoken until the Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Senator Jibrin Barau, was ready to hear the other Committees’ reports on their preparations for the general legislative discussion.

Senator Elisha Ishaku Abbo, who represents the Adamawa North Senatorial constituency and is a member of the Committee on Navy, said in a conversation with the media that the Committee had no hidden agenda amid concerns about subjects that were discussed behind closed doors.
He said that certain agencies hadn’t properly organized their records and that they will be ordered to do so in a closed-door meeting.

“The closed-door meeting with the Navy wasn’t for any ulterior agenda,” he responded.
We requested that they return, correctly prepare their paperwork, and then return.

Second, for reasons of national security, some topics are too delicate to be discussed in public.

There are around 59 Standing Committees in the Senate, and each one is tasked with carrying out budget defense.
The defense gives leaders of governmental institutions a chance to discuss their office’s budget performance from the previous year.
The appalling budget performance of several agencies has frequently caused conflict at meetings.

Even while Committees work hard to hold budget hearings on schedule, the problem of heads of government agencies refusing to accept their invitation has been a problem.

Senator Jibrin Barau repeatedly cautioned that the Committee on Appropriations could move ahead and submit its report to the Committee of the Whole since they don’t have the luxury of time to wait for any Committee in response to some Committee Chairmen’s delays.

His response was in light of the fact that the budget needed to be approved by President Buhari and the legislature before they broke for the holidays and the new year in order for implementation to start in January 2023.