Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has revealed that the National Assembly’s annual budget has remained unchanged for 13 years, despite the impact of inflation and its resulting consequences.
Speaker Abbas noted that despite an increase in federal legislature spending during the period, there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in budgetary allocations to support it.
The Speaker disclosed this during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the African Business Roundtable in Abuja on Wednesday.
- Speaking to the delegation led by the Executive Director, West Africa, Mr Dotun Ajayi, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, in a statement quoted him as saying, “Our budget has been stagnant for 13 years, but our expenditure has gone up within the period. In fact, at some points, the National Assembly budget came down from what it used to be in 2011.”
Abbas also disclosed that the 10th House had established more than 60 parliamentary friendship committees aimed at strengthening connections between the House and other parliamentary bodies worldwide.
He pointed out that the Friendship Committees required external backing to operate at their best, assuring that the House stood ready to endorse any efforts aimed at advancing connections with fellow parliaments.
- “I am pleased to inform you that the House has thought about what you’re talking about several months ago. On July 27, we announced membership of 43 parliamentary friendship committees to find ways of improving our relations in terms of business and other aspects with them.
- “Two weeks ago, we increased it from 43 to 65. Just yesterday, we also included Serbia, making it 66.
- “We are with you on this issue (engagements with other parliaments). This is noble. Even before you came, we thought about that.“I want to assure you that we’ll engage more with you. This meeting will be a historic one which will be a point of reference in the future. We will pursue it with all the energy we have,” he said.
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Earlier, Mr. Ajayi remarked that the recent coup in Niger Republic has introduced a fresh perspective into the interactions between certain European nations and West Africa.
He observed that Niger faced challenges in its relations with European countries, particularly France, as the French government was contemplating discontinuing all aid to West Africa following the coup.
- “The President has been playing some roles behind the scenes on this. The parliament needs to be seen to work with him on this. Our Parliament should engage the French Parliament and the European Union
- “We’re proposing an engagement between you and your members for a partnership between you and the EU, as well as the French Parliament,” he said.