Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday said a bill to legalize constituency projects is being considered to address controversies trailing it.
Speaking during a
public hearing on three bills tagged,” constituency projects (budgetary
provision bill), Tax incentives management bill and Companies Income Tax
(Amendment) organised by the Senate committee on Finance, Saraki said the bill
will ensure that every local government is covered in the allocation of
projects in the annual budget.
“In some African
democracies with similar presidential system as ours, like Kenya and Uganda;
there exist legal and institutional frameworks for the implementation of constituency
projects. “This is to forestall controversies that might arise because of
the poor understanding of the implementation process. I am hopeful this bill
will aid constituency project implementation oversight and ensure its equitable
distribution and execution,” he said.
Saraki said it was
pertinent to educate the public that this bill is not to empower the National
Assembly members to take 20% of the annual budget and use it for personal
consumption. “That has always been the false understanding of
constituency projects even amongst the most educated Nigerians. Members of the
National Assembly merely identify the needs of their constituents and recommend
to the Executive during budgeting.
“Ultimately
National Assembly members have no direct control over the release of funds and
all payments are processed and effected in accordance with government
regulations,” he said. Also speaking, chairman of the Senate committee on
finance, Senator John Enoh (PDP, Cross River) said the two other bills when
passed would assist in blocking revenue leakages, enhance tax collection and
stimulate the economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment