Nigeria?s House of Representatives has advanced a Bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to compel the President to present annual budget estimates to a joint session of the National Assembly no later than the last working day of September each year.

The proposed amendment, sponsored by Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker and four other lawmakers, also mandates the submission of audited financial statements for the preceding three years alongside each new budget proposal.

The Bill aims to institutionalise fiscal discipline, enhance transparency, and promote development-focused budgeting at both federal and state levels.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the Bill, one of its co-sponsors, Nkemkanma Kama, said the proposal seeks to address recurring inefficiencies in Nigeria?s budgeting process, including delayed submissions, poor implementation, and weak alignment between appropriations and audited performance.

?We have all witnessed the recurring challenges that plague the Nigerian budgeting system. From budgets being presented late and passed deep into the fiscal year, to Appropriation Acts that bear little resemblance to audited performance, to fragmented and non-transparent fiscal reporting at both the federal and state levels. This Bill offers a structural remedy by embedding discipline, transparency, and long-term vision into the Constitution to guide budget process at all levels of governance?, Kama said.

The draft legislation, which contains four clauses, proposes amendments to Sections 81 and 121 of the 1999 Constitution (as ammended). It would, for the first time, provide a constitutional basis for the President to present the annual budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, as current law only permits separate presentations to each chamber.

In a bid to promote balanced and accountable spending, the Bill also prescribes that public expenditure be organised under five defined heads with specified minimum and maximum ratios: at least 30% for infrastructure, a minimum of 20% for human capital development, personnel costs capped at 15%, administrative overheads limited to 10%, and debt obligations not exceeding 25%.

It further requires preliminary expenditure accounts to accompany supplementary budgets, as well as five-year projections for infrastructure and human capital development. The same fiscal principles would apply to state governments.

Kama described the Bill as a ?patriotic reform? aimed at ensuring that Nigeria?s budget ?works for Nigerians.? He urged lawmakers to support its passage, saying it would lay ?a permanent constitutional foundation for fiscal discipline, development-oriented spending, and transparent governance at all levels.?

?It seeks to constitutionally reform the budgeting process, ensuring that our fiscal operations are timely, evidence-based, transparent, and directed towards genuine development outcomes?, he added. (BusinessDay)

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