Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described as crucial the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in budget formulation, especially in relation to the work of the National Assembly.
Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, stated this at the 2nd Interactive Session on the Budget between the Senate Committee on Diaspora & NGOs and the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the country.
He noted that the 1st Interactive Session helped in establishing a bond between the National Assembly and the CSOs through a joint alliance on the Annual Budget Hearings.
"It is this success which has inspired us to come together again for the 2nd interactive session," Saraki said. "Indeed, the role of CSOs in the formulation of the budget especially as it relates to the works of the National Assembly cannot be overemphasized as the public budget remains a key fiscal policy tool for boosting economic development in a country."
He argued that the present challenge is how best to ensure that the Budget is utilized as an effective policy tool to navigate the way out of the current economic recession since it has become obvious that government can no longer depend on oil for revenues.
"This will require us to look beyond the expenditure side of the budget, and pay particular attention on our revenue generating capacities and alternatives...Therefore, as we deliberate on the implementation of the 2016 Budget as well as the framework for the 2017 Budget we should bear in mind economic context on which the budget is being driven.
"I believe that public engagements such as this, is germane to the development of a responsible budget framework. It is against this backdrop that we, at the National Assembly, have tried to foster an interactive engagement platform where we can engage the CSOs on matters relating the Budget of our national economy," he said.
He noted further that the 8th National Assembly has taken the initiative to kick-start a process that would lead to reforms in the Budget process, by setting up a Budget Reform Committee "with a mandate to conduct a comprehensive review of the budget process and proffer recommendations."
Earlier in her remarks, Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Senator Rose Oko, said the session has become imperative as the Senate believes that the involvement of CSOs would add value to the budgetary process of the National Assembly.
"Senate considered that the participation of CSOs could strengthen the legislators' functions on budgetary matters by way of delivering research-based evidence and advice to members of the National Assembly", Senator Oko said.
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