National Assembly to publish budget of legislature

The National Assembly has reacted to the publication of security votes by Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

Governor El-Rufai had on Monday, April 10, released details of his state’s security vote and challenged the National Assembly to do same.

The House of Representatives in response has said El-Rufai was trying to be clever in publishing some items on his security vote the way he did.

The chairman, House committee on media and public affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, told the Punch on Monday. April 10, that Dogara’s charge to El-Rufai was that he should champion the cause of transparency in all arms of government, beginning with the judiciary, the executive and also to extend it to the governors.

Besides, Namdas said the speaker had directed the bureaucracy of the National Assembly to publish the budget of the legislature, beginning with the 2017 budget, when passed. Namdas noted that Dogara gave the direction in the presence of Governor El-Rufai.

The House spokesperson said the speaker also talked about the security votes of local government councils; how are the governors spending funds, which he insisted had not been addressed.

“But, what is important is that the National Assembly bureaucracy has already been directed to publish the details of the budget.

“Dogara gave this directive right in the presence of el-Rufai. The budget will soon be passed” he said.

When the special adviser to the president of the Senate on media and publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, was contacted over the issue, he reiterated Saraki’s earlier position that the budget of the legislature would be made public after the passage of the 2017 Appropriation Bill.

Olaniyonu stated: “Yes, they are working on it and it will be made known (to the public). At least, the national budget for 2017 has not been passed. When it will be passed, the details of the National Assembly budget will be passed along with it. That is the plan by the Senate President.”