The Senate has justified the additional N170 billion allocation to the National Assembly in the 2025 budget, arguing that the legislature, as a key arm of government, should not have a stagnant budget while other arms experience funding increases.
Speaking on Arise Television’s This Morning Show on Monday, Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, defended the increased allocation, emphasizing the need for a proportional adjustment in line with the overall budget expansion.
“When you consider the value of NASS budget for 2024, look at 2023, look at 2024 and that of 2025, the initial ones were almost the same. And then the budget of 2024 was N27 trillion while that of 2025 rose to N54.9 trillion,” Adaramodu stated.
He further argued that it would be unrealistic to expect the National Assembly’s budget to remain static when the executive and judiciary have seen increases in their allocations.
“Are you telling me or are we saying that the budget of the National Assembly, which is a tier of government, should now remain static when other tiers of government, either the executive or the judiciary, have had a lift in their budgets? When you look at what goes to each of the ministries and each of the sectors, they have a lift-up. If the National Assembly, which is another tier of government, is now having a lift of that N170 billion, I don’t think that is… what we can now say maybe the National Assembly has padded again,” he added.
Breakdown of Allocation
The additional N170 billion allocation is captured under the Service Wide Vote (SWV) in the 2025 budget and classified under capital supplementation. This effectively raises the legislature’s funding by nearly 50% without explicitly altering its statutory transfer of N344.85 billion.
The National Assembly’s total budget, when combined with the statutory transfer and the SWV allocation, signals a significant increase in legislative spending, drawing scrutiny from analysts and the public. However, lawmakers maintain that the increase is justified within the broader context of the national budget expansion and the financial requirements of the legislature.
Public Scrutiny and Justification
The justification for the increased funding has drawn mixed reactions from economic experts and civil society organizations. While some argue that the legislative arm requires adequate funding to perform its oversight functions effectively, others believe that the allocation should be subjected to greater transparency and accountability.
- Critics have raised concerns about the growing cost of governance, particularly at a time when economic challenges persist, and many Nigerians face hardship. They argue that while the overall budget has doubled, the efficiency and effectiveness of government spending, including legislative expenditures, should be a primary concern.
- In response, Adaramodu emphasized that the National Assembly remains committed to fiscal responsibility and ensuring that funds allocated to it are used for national development.
“What percentage of the National Assembly budget is the total budget of Nigeria?” he questioned, suggesting that the allocation remains relatively small compared to the overall fiscal plan.
Lawmakers insist that the increase aligns with national budgetary trends, while public discourse remains focused on the broader implications for governance, accountability, and economic sustainability.
More insights
In 2018, the Presidency faulted the decision of the National Assembly to distort the 2018 Budget after N270 billion allocation was made for their constituency projects.
According to a statement by the then Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, while N100 billion was already provided for constituency projects in the 2018 Budget proposal, the executive also allowed additional N170 billion provision for the projects from the increased oil benchmark.
