The National Assembly is set to begin proper scrutiny of the yearly budgets submitted by the Executive with the move to establish its Budget and Research Office.
A bill, which has been presented to that effect, has scaled first reading at the Senate.
The bill provides that the National Assembly Budget and Research Office shall exist to “provide independent and continuous review of the Federal Government budgets, including monitoring of existing and proposed programmes; provide independent unbiased analysis of the budget of the National Assembly and assist all the committees of the National Assembly in developing their annual budgets.”
Other functions of the office will include providing assistance to all committees in both chambers of the National Assembly, including information with respect to budget and all bills relating to new budget heads.
It is also expected to supply information with respect to estimated future revenue and changing revenue conditions.
Other functions of the office as stated in the bill include to “provide analysis of the economic implication on the private sector, and the budgetary and financial implication on states and local governments of any proposed legislation when so required by any committee of the National Assembly.”
The budget office will also be required to prepare and present to the National Assembly periodic forecasts of economic trends and alternative fiscal policies; and provide the National Assembly with cost estimates, including an analysis of the inflammatory impact of any proposed legislation.
In addition, the office will report annually to both chambers of the National Assembly all items funded in the preceding financial year for which no appropriation was made by the legislature and all items contained in the Appropriation Act in the preceding financial year, but which were not funded by the Federal Government.
The office will be managed by a governing board, which will comprise a chairman and six members representing each of the six geographical zones of the country, as well as a director-general and three ex-officio members.
Chairman and members of the board will be appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
However, the chairman and members of the board, excluding the director-general and ex-officio members, can be removed from office by simple majority of the votes of each chamber of the National Assembly.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, told our correspondent that the bill would soon come before the Senate for second reading.
He said since the bill would come soon, it would be improper to discuss its contents now.