By Becky Usman
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, has revealed that the annual budget of the National Assembly has remained stagnant for the past 13 years, despite the impact of inflation and other economic factors. However, he noted that the expenditure of the federal legislature has increased during this period without a corresponding increase in budgetary provisions to support it.
Speaker Abbas made this disclosure during a courtesy visit from a delegation representing the African Business Roundtable in Abuja. He emphasized the need for budgetary adjustments to align with the rising expenditure incurred by the National Assembly.
He explained, “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.”
Speaker Abbas also highlighted the efforts of the 10th House of Representatives in fostering international relations by creating over 60 parliamentary friendship committees. These committees aim to strengthen the relationships between the Nigerian House of Representatives and other parliaments worldwide.
He expressed the House’s commitment to supporting initiatives that enhance its relationships with other parliaments and welcomed the delegation’s engagement on this issue.
The Executive Director (West Africa) of the African Business Roundtable, Mr. Dotun Ajayi, discussed the recent coup in Niger Republic and its implications for engagements between European countries and West Africa. He stressed the importance of Nigerian parliamentarians engaging with their European counterparts to address this issue and maximize assistance from the European Union (EU) for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ajayi proposed an engagement between Nigerian parliamentarians and the EU, as well as the French Parliament, to leverage EU funding for the region and address the challenges posed by the coup in Niger Republic.
Speaker Abbas expressed his commitment to advancing these engagements and working towards a partnership between the Nigerian National Assembly and the EU, as well as the French Parliament. He emphasized the importance of collaboration and the potential impact on Nigeria’s relationship with the EU and European countries.