Budget padding is misunderstood, MPs of Parliament are not criminals – Beware

The Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Allocation, Senator Solomon Adeola, on Sunday, condemned what he called as wrong information and public misunderstanding about the role of the National Assembly in the Nigerian budgeting process.

Speaking at the 2nd Annual Retreat of the Remo Traditional Council held in Sagamu, the State of Ogun, MPs said that the legislature was often described as a criminal in public discourse about the budget, especially in discussions about what was called “budget pads,” “insertion,” and “constituent projects.”

Adeola, who represented the West Ogun Senatorial District, delivered a lecture entitled “Legislative Role in Shaping a Holistic Budget for Nigeria,” where he emphasized that the input of the National Assembly into the budget was not only constitutional but it was important to ensure fair development throughout the country.

“There is a lot of information that is wrong and sometimes direct falsity out there about the budget problem in Nigeria,” Adeola said. “The legislature is often misinterpreted as criminals in our budgeting process. Allegations related to the budget such as ‘budget pads,’ ‘insertion,’ and ‘constituent projects’ are regularly thrown around the media against the legislative, creating confusion and throwing aspersi at parliament among citizens.”

According to his statement by his media advisor, Head of Kayode Odunaro, Senator explained that since his return to democratic government in 1999, a misunderstanding of the legislative role in budgeting has survived, with the public often misleading about the nature and intentions of the intervention of parliament members.

Adeola stressed that the budget is not only a compilation of numbers but a strategic policy document aimed at serving the interests of all Nigerians. He stated that the legislature has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that there is no part of the country that is ignored in the allocation of public resources.

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“The needs of each Nigerian area in terms of multi-facial and diverse development,” he said. “This is why every senator and member of the House of Representatives is expected to make input based on the needs of their constituents for the possibility of being included in the budget. If successful, this is not a budget pad or insertion, but uses legislative forces for the benefit of the people.”

Senators further clarify that what is often described as “budget pads” or “insertion”, in reality, is a legal legislative intervention that aims to ensure a balanced national development. He asserted that many rural communities and less served would remain excluded from the government’s attention without such intervention.

In the electoral area projects, Adeola explained that contrary to popular trust, such projects were not executed by parliamentary members but were carried out by executive institutions and ministries.

“Domicile Constituent Funds in MDA [Ministries, Departments, and Agencies]And parliament members do not implement these projects themselves. Therefore it is not true and unfair to accuse the legislature of the budget bearing in this context, “he said.

Quoting the 80 to 84 section of the 1999 Constitution, Senator emphasized that the National Assembly has an exclusive aproprification power over public funds.

“This power means that before Kobo was spent from the Ministry of National Finance, first -first must be approved by the National Assembly,” he concluded.