Senate synergies with Executive on National Development Plans
The Senate has put machinery in motion towards collaborating with the executive arm of government in coming up with achievable National Development Plans that will serve as basis upon which yearly budgets are planned and executed .
Conceptualization of the idea by the Upper Legislative Chamber is being carried out by its Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs , chaired by Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi ( APC Ekiti North).
Briefing media on the collaboration and a planned retreat between the committee and the Federal Ministry of Finance , Budget and National Planning on Friday in Abuja , Senator Adetunbi said the process would serve as the required compass for yearly budgeting and implementation .
According to him, the retreat planned for this coming week, “is designed among others , to develop and build consensus , explore opportunities for technical support , capacity building , and share best practices targetted at facilitating a return to plan – based budgeting in Nigeria “.
He explained that though the N10.594 2020 budget recently passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly will kick start the return of the yearly budget cycle to January – December but that 2021 budget will be more collaborative in vision , content and execution .
” Projections and estimates of the 2021 budget will be driven in implementation by the National Development Plans that would be formulated at the retreat and the basis upon which yearly budgets of the country will be driven in terms of proposals , projections and implementation ” , he said .
Senator Adetunbi has since the 7th National Assembly , been advocating for a paradigm shift in the yearly budgeting process in the country from executive solely preparing it and the legislature approving it, to a collaborative template requiring involvements of both arms of government from the stage of planning to that of execution