The National Assembly has commenced public hearing on the 2017 Appropriation Bill aimed at allowing stakeholders and members of the public to make contributions to the proposed legislation before passage by the National Assembly.

In his address yesterday at the opening session, Senate President Bukola Saraki noted that the country is at a critical stage of National Development, saying that the idea of the Budget hearing was timely and a welcome development.

‎He emphasised the importance of stakeholders contributions to the 2017 Budget, harping on the challenges on how to ensure the 2017 Budget is efficiently utilised.

‎Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje ‎in his opening speech, noted that the budget hearing was aimed at making the National Budgeting process an all inclusive activity for all Nigerians. ‎

The public hearing, according to him, will shape discourse on fiscal, financial and economic assumptions used as basis in arriving at total estimated expenditure.

While assuring that the forum, upon conclusion, will be used for the collation of views and positions with a view to making general legislative contribution to the Budget, he emphasised that “the hearing will provide a think tank and research base to help National Assembly in planning toward sustainable development.”

‎On her part, Minister of State for Budget and Planning, Aisha Ahmed, assured that effort has been made to ensure the 2017 Budget is in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, adding that “the Budget is designed to expand the capacity between the public and the private sectors.”

News Express reports that the National Assembly had suspended regular plenary sessions in order to give all committees an opportunity to conduct adequate oversight and to push the budget defense a step further by allowing members of the public to weigh-in constructively on ways to improve the appropriations bill.‎

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