By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
The Senate yesterday established a parallel budget office following the passage of a bill for an Act to establish the Independent National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) which scaled third reading on the floor during plenary.
The budget office, amongst others, shall be responsible for independently analysing budget proposals from the executive, with a view to giving an objective advice to both chambers of the National Assembly on desirable economic and budget decisions has been established by the Senate.
It shall also recommend viable parameters for budgets, as well as the appropriate allocations to the government ministries, departments and agencies.
Presenting the report
of the Senate Committees on Appropriations; and Establishment and Public Service on the Independent National Budget and Research Office (Establishment) Bill, Senator Ita Enang (APC Akwa-Ibom North East) who represented the Chairman of the committee, Ahmad Maccido, said the Bill would assist the Appropriations Committees and Finance Committees of both Houses and other committees in their works.
He said: “It will provide them with the essential non-partisan budgetary information needed to process national budgets as opposed to the current situation where the only source of information on the statistics of our budget is from the executive.”
According to him, the bill when operational, will among other functions, submit to both chambers of the of the National Assembly, not later than June every year, a report of all items funded in the preceding financial year for which no appropriation was made by the National Assembly.
The office will be governed by a board, comprising of six members from each of the geo-political zones and a chairman who will be appointed by both the Senate President and the Speaker, and who shall in turn appoint the Director General and other Directors of the office.