Dino Melaye Criticizes Nigeria’s Budgeting System: An Avenue for Fraud and Corruption

Former Nigerian Senator Dino Melaye has recently spoken out against the country’s budgeting system, which he claims is used to defraud the nation and enrich a select few.

In his statement, Melaye criticized the National Assembly’s decision to increase its budgetary allocation by 74.23 percent to N344.85 billion, making it the highest-ever budgetary allocation to the legislative body.

Melaye argued that the budgeting system has been manipulated to benefit a few elected principal officers through the inclusion of fake items and projects with little national significance.

He cited examples such as the Senate car park and the NASS hospital, which he believes are excessive and unnecessary.

The former Senator also pointed out that the National Assembly has failed in its primary role of checking the excesses of the executive arm of government.

He noted that both the National Assembly and the executive now work in partnership to perpetuate this “miasma” of corruption and fraud.

Melaye’s criticism comes at a time when ordinary Nigerians are bearing the burden of reform initiatives such as fuel subsidy removal and the merging of exchange rates.

Meanwhile, the government has been accused of excessively favoring lawmakers with increased budgetary allocations.

The issue of budget transparency in Nigeria has also been a concern, with the country ranking 90th out of 115 countries globally on the Open Budget Index.

This lack of transparency has allowed for corruption to be “legalized” in the budget, according to Melaye.

As Nigeria continues to grapple with issues of corruption and accountability, it remains to be seen whether the current administration will address the concerns raised by Dino Melaye and other critics, and work towards a more transparent and equitable budgeting system.