The Presidency says by submitting the budgets of ministries, departments and agencies for the scrutiny of the National Assembly, President Muhammadu Buhahi has shown that he has no hidden agenda.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu told State House correspondents Monday that this was also an indication of Buhari’s commitment to open, transparent and people-oriented governance.
He asserted that President Buhari’s government had distinguished itself from past administrations which mostly ignored the legislature’s demand that MDA budgets be laid before it for scrutiny.
Shehu, who noted that Buhari’s positive response was equally a mark of respect for the institution of parliament, said the Presidency hoped and expected that the legislature would act in the best interest of Nigeria by allowing "the immediate operationalisation of the budgets so that the momentum of growth of the economy which has begun to build up will be sustained."
He stated: "The transmission of budgets of the MDAs to the National Assembly, particularly those regarding the Central Bank and the NNPC, behemoth, is clearly unprecedented. The president is determined to make the budgeting process more transparent and participatory. It’s all part of the re-engineering of the entire processes of governance for the benefit of ordinary citizens."
According to him, President Buhari sees good governance as key to the nation’s progress and transparency as the cornerstone of any government that has the welfare of ordinary citizens as its mantra.
The presidential aide further assured that Buhari would not let Nigerians down on his key promises.
