Nigeria still backward despite N67tr budget since 1999′

Nigeria is yet to make remarkable improvements despite N67 trillion budget between 1999 and 2018.

MacArthur Foundation representative, Oladayo Olaide stated this in Abuja on at a one-day seminar organized by members of the House of Representatives Press Corps, in collaboration with Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

‎Speaking at the seminar with the theme, “Fight Against Corruption: Setting Agenda for the 9th House,” Olaide noted that corruption remains the biggest challenge to the nation, especially the National Assembly with its “corrupt perception.”

He said the lawmakers are in the best position to fight corruption through responsible oversight of government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), saying “even as 13.5 million children are out of school‎, over N20 billion are yet to be remitted by identifiable agencies .”

“One of the biggest challenge of the National Assembly is its perception as a corrupt institution. The country budgeted N67 trillion between 1999 and 2018; yet, no improvement.

“There should be deliberate commitment to fight against corruption through responsible oversight‎ by lawmakers. Today, 67 MDAs have not submitted audited reports for 10 years; 69 ‎others have not been audited since establishment. But they still receive appropriations,” Olaide wondered.

Responding, however, Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa), who was spokesman of the 8th House, cautioned that although the budgeted figure was accurate, budget is only ‘expectation’ as the whole amount was never fully implemented.

According to him, the fight against corruption transcends party lines, and the legislature needs the collaboration of the executive to effectively map out the legal framework to tackle the scourge.

Auwal Musa, CISLAC Executive Director, said the agency was committed to mainstreaming the fight against corruption and other criminal activities by ensuring that the 9th House lead by example, to complement the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Earlier, the Chairman of the House of Reps Press Corps, Grace Ike, had called for more transparency and unfettered access to information to help journalists report the activities of 9th House amid the pervasive negative public perception.