A group of former lawmakers, Faculty Board of Initiatives, has said that
the term budget padding is alien to legislative practice and should be
discarded in the Nigerian context.
Eseme Eyibo, a former member of the House and one of the conveners of the
Initiative said during a press conference yesterday in Abuja that using
budget padding as a term where lawmakers use their constitutional powers
to appropriate funds in a budget proposal was a misapplication of the
term.
Eyibo said they were not concerned about any allegations made on the
budget issue but the integrity of the National Assembly as an institution.
“We’re very concerned about the jurisprudence of our constitutional
democracy. Any issue that has to do with institutional integrity of the
legislature is something we pick interest on.
“I have read one language, which is very strange in the legislature, which
is padding. I know the word padding has to do with tailoring. The
personalities involved are all brothers and colleagues, so they can sort
themselves out at any time. Our own is the integrity of the institution.
“We feel we should appeal to Nigerians through you. What the legislature
is suffering today at all levels is because of poor perception. We feel
that Nigerians should give a chance to the legislature.”
He said the National Assembly has the constitutional powers to tinker with
the budget proposal sent to it by the Executive arm, which should not be
misunderstood as padding.
“Section 81 doesn’t intend that a proposal would be sent to the
legislature and then the legislature stamps it and then it becomes law. In
the course of budget preparation, there maybe adjustment, which could be
by way of deletion or addition.
“That doesn’t mean there is no issue of indiscretion. The adjustment of
the budget shouldn’t be misconstrued as padding. We agree that there are
bounds to be indiscretion,” he said.
On the issue of constituency projects, Eyibo said it was a good initiative
for equitable distribution of projects, but that there may be
indiscretions and abuses here and there.
For such abuses to be curtailed, he said, the Public Procurement law must
be complied with in order not to allow some people access to the funds for
the projects.
“The word padding is the misapplication of the word in the sense of budget
process in Nigeria. Constituency projects and zonal intervention
programmes are meant to provide equity in the distribution of projects in
the country.”
For his part, a member of the initiative and also a former lawmaker, Chris
Eta, said they would advocate that both budget summary and details should
be made available at the early stage for every lawmaker and other
Nigerians to see.
He said if that was done, it would go a long way to reduce the kind of
controversy witnessed in the 2016 budget.