Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has disclosed that the annual budget of the National Assembly has remained stagnant for 13 years, despite the impact of inflation and its associated consequences.
The Speaker pointed out that during this period, the expenditure of the federal legislature has increased, but there haven’t been corresponding budgetary allocations to support this growth.
Speaker Abbas made these remarks during a courtesy visit from a delegation representing the African Business Roundtable in Abuja.
“Our budget has remained unchanged for 13 years, even though our expenditure has increased during that time. In fact, at certain points, the National Assembly’s budget decreased compared to what it was in 2011,” stated the Speaker during the visit, which was led by Mr. Dotun Ajayi, the Executive Director (West Africa).
Speaker Abbas highlighted that the 10th House of the National Assembly had established more than 60 parliamentary friendship committees to strengthen the House’s relationships with other parliaments worldwide. He emphasized that these friendship committees required external support to function effectively, and the House was committed to supporting initiatives that would enhance its relationships with other parliaments.
“I’m delighted to inform you that the House had already considered your proposal several months ago. On July 27, we announced the formation of 43 parliamentary friendship committees aimed at improving our business and other relations with them. Two weeks ago, we increased the number from 43 to 65. Just yesterday, we added Serbia, bringing the total to 66,” he noted.
Speaker Abbas assured the delegation that the House was fully aligned with their objectives regarding engagements with other parliaments. He stated, “We are in full support of your efforts. This meeting will be a historic one and serve as a reference point in the future. We will pursue it with all the energy we have.”
Mr. Ajayi, leading the delegation, pointed out that the recent coup in Niger Republic had introduced a new dimension to engagements between some European countries and West Africa. He highlighted that Niger had issues only with France in Europe, while the French government was considering cutting all forms of assistance to West Africa following the coup.
“The President has been playing a role behind the scenes on this matter. The parliament needs to be seen working with him on this. Our Parliament should engage the French Parliament and the EU,” Mr. Ajayi emphasized.
He also mentioned that the European Union had allocated 20 billion Euros for Sub-Saharan Africa, and the goal was to increase Nigeria’s share through enhanced engagement.
“We propose a partnership between you and your members with the EU, as well as the French Parliament,” he concluded.
