ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Monday, January 18, 2021
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
$5 billion Nigerians spend on generators annually unacceptable – Dogara

Speaker Yakubu Dogara

Budget Padding Scandal: Speaker Dogara’s bill to check budget fraud passes first reading

bySamuel Ogundipe
March 9, 2017
3 min read

Following a turbulent year vitiated by frontal allegations of budget fraud, the Speaker of the Nigerian parliament has drafted a bill aimed at reforming the country’s porous appropriation process.

But critics immediately dismissed the proposal as a half-hearted measure that failed to address the controversial constituency intervention projects which lawmakers allegedly use to fleece the federal coffers.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara said his bill will regulate the preparation, presentation, enactment, implementation, monitoring and oversight as well as hand serious penalties to anyone who contravenes Appropriations Act in each fiscal year.

Proposed penalties for violation of the Appropriations Act include written reprimand, written warning, suspension from office, surcharge, demotion or reduction in status; denial or promotion, termination of employment, impeachment; and for committee chairmen in the National Assembly, removal from chairmanship of committee, among others.

The bill also proposed rewards for public officers and civil servants for outstanding work. The proposed reward includes a letter of commendation, certificate of merit, public decoration with a medal of recognition, recommendation for accelerated promotion, recommendation for national honour and gift in cash or kind among others.

Mr. Dogara also made provisions for a “Budget Process Calendar.” The calendar will require that some actions on the budget be completed as follows:

Budget presentation within the first week of September of every year.

The passage must be completed no later than the second week of December and assent for December 30, among others.

The proposal immediately scaled first reading in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

RelatedNews

VIDEO: How communal crisis set back my farming business – Susan Godwin

Nigeria migrates all mineral titles to digital canvas expecting revenue windfalls

COVID-19: Lagos intensifies public sensitisation on second wave

Pro-Trump protesters breach U.S. Congress building; VP Pence, lawmakers evacuated

Mr. Dogara’s spokesperson, Turaki Hassan, described the development as a “fulfillment of the Speaker’s pledge to reform the budget process.”

If eventually adopted, the changes may not constitute much hindrance to fraudulent manipulation of the budget by lawmakers, said Liborous Oshoma.

Mr. Oshoma, a Lagos-based lawyer, said Mr. Dogara’s proposal was a “subtle threat” to lawmakers and not a mechanism to rein in perennial budget fraud.

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

“The proposal is clearly a subtle threat to some lawmakers who may want to oppose the Speaker in the near future, they want to use it to bully lawmakers like Abdulmumin Jibrin,” Mr. Oshoma said.

Mr. Oshoma said ending budget fraud will require deep cooperation between the executive and the legislature and not this cursory proposal of the Speaker.

“The fraud usually happens before the budget is signed into law,” Mr. Oshoma said. “What the Speaker should do is to work with the executive for a broader, detailed legislation that will end all manner of questionable activities, including the so-called constituency projects.”

Mr. Dogara is an ardent supporter of constituency intervention programs for lawmakers, saying it is the only way to evenly distribute federal projects to all parts of the country.

His proposal came after months of revelations about how lawmakers were allegedly inserting fictitious projects into line items to dubiously channel public funds into their pocket.

The scandal broke after Speaker Yakubu Dogara moved against Abdulmumin Jibrin, his erstwhile ally, who played a key role in helping him beat back powerful political interests to emerge Speaker.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr. Jibrin’s allegations eventually saw him receive a one-year suspension from the parliament.

But critics maintain the so-called constituency projects line items mostly serve as a conduit for lawmakers to syphon public funds into their pockets because they are often poorly executed or, in most cases, never carried out.

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...


JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Disqus (0)
premiumtimes



PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Al-Shabaab leader surrenders

Next Post

Apo Six Killings: Court sentences two police officers to death

Samuel Ogundipe

Samuel Ogundipe

Samuel Ogundipe is a general assignment reporter at PREMIUM TIMES. At various times, he has covered the Presidency, National Assembly and Defence. Twitter: @SamuelOgundipe

More News

Ahmed Maiwada Picture courtesy, Daily Nigerian

Court wades into crisis rocking Nigerian writers’ union

January 18, 2021
Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, in Osun State, John Adekolawole [PHOTO CREDIT: John Adekolawole on facebook]

Ede Polytechnic Staff, alumni write Buhari, list rector’s many “sins”

January 18, 2021
Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga [PHOTO CREDIT: suga.yoshihide]

COVID-19: Japan PM vows to press ahead with Olympics amid virus surge

January 18, 2021
Militia in Dafur used to illustrate the story.

Death toll from militias’ attack in Sudan’s West Darfur State climbs to 83

January 18, 2021
The Nigeria Air Force in Nguroje

Nigerian military destroys seven more Boko Haram gun trucks – Official

January 17, 2021
Nigerians wearing face mask since the first case of Coronavirus hit the country.

Nigerian govt to inaugurate COVID-19 Rapid Response Register for urban poor – Official

January 17, 2021
Next Post
Apo Six: Police officers being led by Prison officials

Apo Six Killings: Court sentences two police officers to death

Barcelona celebrates after the match [Photo: ESPN]

Barcelona’s recovery is why the world loves football

Discussion about this post

Search

#EndSARS: Latest Updates




Polaris Bank


JAIZ Ad


NITDA Ad




Advertisement






netherland biz school Advert

Zenith Advert

Heritage Advert
ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps Address Nationwide
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • Dubawa
    • Dubawa NG
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.