The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has urged Nigerians to become more involved in the budget process to improve the country’s democratic processes.
At a town hall meeting on Monday, Mr Abbas disclosed that the House will amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 to improve access to information and public consultation throughout the budget appropriation process.
According to the Speaker, the town hall would increase public awareness of how public funds are spent and assist in building trust in government institutions.
“More importantly, this town hall will allow the National Assembly to understand citizens’ needs better and explore ways to address them through the budget,” he said.
Mr Abbas expects a big improvement in the budget process for 2025 compared to this year. He pointed out that the 2025 budget will be “discussed at the constituency level to ensure inclusion and engagement with diverse stakeholders at the grassroots level.”
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He said that the relevance of town halls is best understood in countries such as Nigeria, where individuals place greater trust in informal institutions such as religious and traditional leaders than in the executive offices of the state.
Mr Abbas cited a 2014/2015 Afrobarometer study of 36 African countries, claiming that Nigeria received only 13 out of a potential 100 points for public involvement.
“This poor ranking was due to the dominant role played by the political elite and government bureaucrats in the budgeting process. While some progress has been made since 2017, many traditional challenges remain. The most notable is the absence of functional government mechanisms that show how citizen input informs the budget-making process.”
Mr Abbas said greater citizen engagement requires action not just by the legislature but more so by the Executive, and he urged the federal government to contribute resources to promoting public participation in democratic governance.
“Some of the ways to achieve this include regular publishing of MDA budgets and quarterly and annual budget implementation reports on their websites, annual publishing of a comprehensive citizen’s satisfaction survey and timely publication and dissemination of all key budget documents to facilitate citizens’ participation,” he added.
