ABUJA – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, yesterday sounded that no amount of intimidation by those working for the executive will deter the National Assembly from continuing to execute zonal intervention projects for their respective constituencies.
He also declared that budget size is not what is important to Nigerians but implementation that impacts positively on the lives of Nigerians.
He made this remarks during a public hearing on the 2018 budget which was organized by the National Assembly joint committee on Appropriation, in which he also described constituency projects as the only way the federal presence is felt in many of the constituencies across the country.
To this end, he disclosed that the legislative arm of government cannot be intimidated from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities by anyone, as the lawmakers will continue to ensure adequate provision for Constituency Projects in the budget and implementation.
While emphasizing that no amount of blackmail from any quarters will force the National Assembly to abandon Zonal Intervention Projects, he said it remains the only tool with which the lawmakers ensure equity in project allocation nationwide.
He added that though the instrumentality of zonal intervention projects has been grossly misunderstood and terribly maligned, it does not change the fact that it has brought development across all federal constituencies and federal presence to remote and forgotten areas in the country.
He said that the legislative arm of government has been the most criticised at the public court on the zonal intervention projects allocated to the legislators.
He lamented on the total absence of federal government projects in rural communities, and encouraged those criticising the inclusion of zonal intervention projects to always participate in such public hearings as it would provide adequate knowledge on budget processes.
“Over the years, the efforts of legislators, especially at the National Assembly to inject equity in budget patronage nationwide through the instrumentality of zonal intervention projects has been grossly misunderstood and terribly maligned mostly by those who are deliberately ignorant and have concocted their own concept of constituency projects which they apply as their yardstick of measurement.
“I make bold to state that, but for Zonal Intervention Projects, many communities in Nigeria would never have enjoyed any form of Federal Government patronage.
Put differently, zonal intervention projects represent the only evidence of Federal government presence in most rural communities of Nigeria.
“Consequently, as representatives of the people, no amount of blackmail from any quarters will force us to abandon our resolve to ensure even development across all federal constituencies.”
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, said the two-day session affords participants the platform to engage, not only on the details of the Appropriations Bill, but also on the underlying assumptions driving the Budget revenue, which he said are critical for a successful implementation of the Budget.
He said the senate is concerned about Government-Owned Enterprises whose operating surpluses have always been significantly lower than projections, pointing out that, over the years, the performance of independent revenues has fallen short by at least 50 per cent.
“While we work towards setting new performance standards for government corporations as well as developing stronger oversight frameworks to improve performance in independent revenues, we do expect more realistic projections of Corporations operating surpluses”, he said.
“In addition, there is the need to ensure real value-for-money in government spending as well as prioritise spending on locally made goods. The Made-in-Nigeria initiative, with particular regard to government procurements, is already the thrust of a significant law passed by the 8th National Assembly – and which has the added advantage of helping to revamp our industrial base.
“This is one sure way of creating opportunities for local entrepreneurs, encouraging private sector partnerships and creating jobs, especially for the youth”, Saraki said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of House Appropriations Committee, Hon. Mustapha Bala Dawaki, Said the objective of the Public hearing is to make the budgeting process all inclusive.
“In 2018 budget proposal, basic recommendation contained in the President speech during the budget presentation last December will be used in arriving at the appropriate conclusion.
We allow the public to participate to avoid unnecessary criticism.
The Senate committed chairman on Appropriation, Damjuma Goje, in his remarks, said the committee have received petitions and complaints from the public recommending the expunge of frivolous, unclear and wasteful estimates in the 2018 budget of many MDAs, vowing that they will look into these complaints on their merits.
Speaking earlier, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, told the committee that the budget of 2018 was designed to consolidate the gains of the 2017, adding that revenue leakages had been blocked, while the government has expanded the frontier of revenue generation.
