Victor EzejaThe Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, has criticised the alleged running of four national budgets in the 2024 fiscal year by the Nigerian government.
According to Obi, it amounts to disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, accountability and also a recipe for chaos, and confusion.
Obi’s comment followed the alarm raised by BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria, that the Federal Government intends to run four national budgets concurrently.
The organisation was reacting to the proposed extension of the 2023 Budget implementation period and that of 2023 Supplementary Budget to 31st December 2024.
Prime Business Africa reports that originally, the 2023 budget of N21.83 trillion signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari, was to run from January to December 2023. Few months after assumption of office, President Tinubu’s administration sent a 2023 Supplementary Budget of N2.17 trillion, which was eventually passed when the 2024 Appropriation Act was being drafted. This was barely two months before the end of 2023 fiscal year.
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After extending implementation of the two budgets (2023 supplementary and main approved budget), to 30th June 2024, the National Assembly now takes it further to 31st December 2024.
BudgIT said there are indications that the Federal Government is currently drafting 2024 supplementary budget, which it intends to implement alongside the 2023 approved budget, 2023 supplementary budget and 2024 approved budget. This results in “simultaneous implementation of four budgets—an anomaly with no precedence,” BudgIT said in a statement signed by its Country Director, Mr. Gabriel Okeowo.
The organisation, which has been tracking national, state and local government budgets for years now, said the standard practice should be that projects not implemented within a fiscal year are rolled over to the budget of a new fiscal year.
It warned that “The concurrent implementation of four budgets will lead to severe budget credibility issues, as revenues projected in 2024 alone would most likely be used in implementing four different budgets, negatively impacting service delivery in critical social sectors and the provision of essential public infrastructure.
It added that “If allowed to be implemented, the practice would convert Nigeria’s annual budget into a biennial one, a practice neither provided for by the 1999 Constitution nor the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.”
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The organisation therefore called on the National Assembly to return the budget cycle to the January-December period.
It also urged the Federal Government to identify and implement only the projects and programmes that are critical to national development and improving the lives of citizen.
In a statement via his official X handle on Saturday, Mr Obi observed that operating such budget system would lead to having “frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.”
The former Anambra State governor said such practice indicates that the leaders lack the competence to manage the country’s finances effectively.
According to him, leaders are elected to manage public resources responsibly to improve the welfare of the citizens.
He therefore called for a more responsible and transparent approach to budgeting that caters to the needs of the people.
“We must prioritise the needs of the Nigerian people, not the selfish interests of a few. This is a call to action for all leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos.
“Neither the National Assembly nor the executive has any excuse to promote or condone such unconscionable behaviour. We seek and insist on a nation governed by leaders who are frugal and responsible in their handling of public resources.
“This is the only way we can build a great nation,” Obi stated.
However, reacting to that the Presidency denied claims that it will run four budgets in the 2024 fiscal year.
Prime Business Africa found out that the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi, who reacted to Obi’s statement on X on Saturday, said BudgIT raised false alarm about budget implementation on the“basis of rumours that FG is planning a 2024 supplementary budget.”
According to him, the National Assembly only approved implementation of the capital components of 2023 budget and that the 2023 supplementary should be extended to December 2024 to achieve its objectives.
He argued that capital expenditures in budgets help to “drive economic growth, strengthen private sector output and create employment opportunities for citizens.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
