The Nigerian 10th Senate has resurrected the bill for the establishment of National Assembly Budget and Research Office, NABRO which could not pass legislative scrutiny since 2007 and now passed it.
The Bill is to provides for the creation of an independent unbiased and non-partisan office to carry out an analysis of national budget estimates.
Sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubrin Barau, majority of the senators were of the opinion that the establishment of NABRO would be of immense assistance to the budgetary process of the National Assembly.
They said the bill would provide them with an insights into both hidden and open intentions of any budget presented to the Legislature.
Majority of the Senators believe that the creation of NABRO is importance as it will be an independent, non-partisan, credible and give them up-to-date information to enable them perform their function of oversight.
Former Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan said the bill will enable National Assembly to really answer the name, a National Assembly that is empowered in term of approval on any issue.
Lawanson said; “The 10th Senate should take every possible opportunity to get this bill passed and of course get Mr. President to assent to it. Like the previous speakers have said, this is one law when it came back to us as a law signed by Mr. President that will enable the National Assembly, the Legislature at the highest level in this country to reality answered the name a National Assembly that is empowered, because there is more power in terms of approvals for expenditures in the National Assembly and if we have that power, we must use it properly and appropriately,” he said.
For Senator Olamilekan Solomon, the bill will enable them monitor the level of implementation of the budget when assessing the information it received from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
“This office to be established for the overall benefit of all lawmakers, every years they bring budget before us, but some of our colleagues we say well this has to do do with financial and everything, but the NABRO office will dissect, will breakdown line by line what is contained in that document and advised us accordingly. So this document is for the overall benefit of every Senators and Honorable members of the National Assembly and I urged all my colleagues to go ahead lets give this bill an expeditious passage,”Senator Solomon said.
However ,Senator Adams Oshiomhole drew attention of his colleagues to the announcement of the executive to scale down agencies and wondered why the National Assembly will be establishing more institutions.
He said; “The perception in the public space is that the budget of the National Assembly is too big. Whether we believe with that thinking of the public or not , there is that perception and moreso that President Bola Tinubu has resolved to scale down agencies. We can’t be creating new institutions because it will run contrary with the policy of the government of the day.”
But coming under a point of order, Senator Ibrahim Monguno countered Senator Oshiomhole, stressing that the matter at hand has nothing to do with the budget of the National Assembly, instead it seek to make the budgetary process of the legislature more effective and realistic .
While senator Monguno’s point of order was sustained , some first term senators sort to know why the bill was dropped by the previous assemblies .
In his explanations, the Deputy Senate President Jubrin Barau, who chaired the plenary said it was the fear of the previous executives that the National Assembly will know more than it should, if the NABRO office was established.
“The previous Administrations that refuse to sign, they felt we are going to a kind of compete with them, this kind of sense of in-securing that we are going to know too much, and in democracy you should know, the legislature should know, so that was the reason” he explained.
All other previous senators supported the bill and it was passed through second reading and committed to the Senate committee on Budget and financial institutions.
Among those who spoke to support the bill includes senator Kawu sumaila, Senator Ahmad Lawan, Senator Aliyu Ndume, Senator Olamilekan Solomon among others.
The Bill is to provides for the creation of an independent office to carry out an analysis of national budget estimates brought before the legislature.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
