Speaker Abbas- Budgets Have Failed To Meet Expectations

Abbas Tajuddeen, the House Speaker, lamented that budgets have failed to deliver better services and development.

He made this remark on Wednesday in his address following the N27.5 trillion 2024 budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu.

Tajudeen said: “The government budget is a vital tool for economic management and promoting growth and development, but it has generally fallen short of delivering better services and development. This is mainly due to difficulties in budget enactment, budget implementation, and budget oversight.

“The obvious gaps in the different stages of the budget process highlight the need for budget reforms, including changing relevant sections of the Constitution and existing laws to strengthen the budget process and make our budget a genuine tool for development.

“That is why I suggest enacting a Budget Act to strengthen the budget process and advance development outcomes. This is a common practice in democracies around the world.”

He said the House of Representatives would collaborate with the executive branch to institutionalise pre-budget engagements in order to speed up the budget process.

“Moving forward, Mr. President, we will also work to institutionalise pre-budget engagements with the executive to further enhance and speed up the budget process. The House has already started interacting with MDAs through the Sectoral Debates to understand the challenges facing government agencies and identify areas for legislative intervention.

“All of these efforts are aimed at ensuring that we provide the necessary legislative support to your administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.