The National Assembly on Monday said it would give a breakdown of its N115 billion budget for 2016 along with the national budget’s details.
Senator Sabi Abdullahi, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, made the disclosure in Abuja.
Abdullahi said the breakdown of both budgets would be made before the middle of April, and restated that the 8th National Assembly was determined to carry Nigerians along in its activities.
He said that he was unaware of any promise made by President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on a specific date for the publication of details of the 2016 National Assembly’s budget.
“I am not aware of any promise made by the President of the Senate. What I know is that the National Assembly budget breakdown will be contained in the details of the Federal Government’s budget when it is released,” he said.
The Senate had consistently promised to be transparent and that as part of it, would always make public the details of its budget.
During his inaugural speech, Saraki pledged transparency and openness of the 8th Senate and said that he would make public the budget of the legislature.
In November, 2015, in a statement signed by Bamikole Omishore, Special Assistant to Saraki on Social Media, he pledged to publish the budget so that Nigerians would not be misinformed.
Saraki had said that “by the time we come into the 2016 budget, at the end of the year, it will be even clearer because people will just see one item line.
“But, that is not going to happen now; you will see what goes to the Senate and what goes to the House of Representatives.
“You are going to see what goes to management, what goes to Legislative Institute; we are going to make all these open and clear.
“That is part of the openness we promised’’.
Saraki repeated the promise while inaugurating the refurbished Senate Press Centre on February 2, 2016.
“I can assure you that we are going to move away from the time of one-item-line National Assembly to National Assembly where there will be breakdowns according to different sections.
“I want to appeal to you, to all Nigerians that we should work together. We have all been here since 1999 when things were not done right,” he had said.
