Senate Halts Procurement Reform, Insists on Budget Transparency First

• Akpabio, senators admit lawmakers lack full knowledge of National Assembly finances  

•As tender board proposal withdrawn

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate on Thursday shelved a proposal to establish an Internal Tender Board for the National Assembly after lawmakers, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, declared that the legislature must first open up its own budget and financial management to greater scrutiny before embarking on procurement reforms.

The dramatic withdrawal of the motion laid bare growing unease within the upper chamber over the opacity surrounding the National Assembly’s finances, with several senators openly admitting that lawmakers themselves were largely unaware of how the institution’s budget was prepared and implemented.

The motion, sponsored by Senator Sunday Steve Karimi (APC, Kogi West), sought the establishment of an Internal Tender Board to oversee procurement activities within approved budgetary provisions as part of efforts to strengthen the legislature’s financial autonomy.

Karimi anchored his proposal on Section 81(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the financial independence of the National Assembly through a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, as well as Section 51, which empowers each chamber to regulate its internal administration.

He argued the proposal would reinforce parliamentary autonomy and improve the efficiency and transparency of procurement processes.

“The Senate notes that Section 81(3) of the Constitution guarantees the independence of the National Assembly and provides for its funding through the first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund,” he said.

He added that, “In furtherance of the constitutional principle of separation of powers and parliamentary autonomy, it is necessary to strengthen the institutional capacity of the National Assembly to manage its financial and procurement processes efficiently, transparently and in a manner consistent with its status as an independent arm of government.”

Karimi urged the Senate to affirm parliamentary autonomy, establish the Internal Tender Board and mandate the Clerk to the National Assembly to constitute it.

However, the proposal immediately ran into stiff opposition.

Leading the resistance, Senator Adamu Aliero argued that the Senate was attempting to solve the wrong problem, insisting that lawmakers should first address the absence of transparency in the National Assembly’s budgeting process.

“We are putting the cart before the horse,” Aliero declared.

He maintained that procurement was not the fundamental challenge confronting the legislature’s financial management.

“Two of the problems that we have in the National Assembly regarding the management of finances and the budget do not solely lie in the process of procurement.

“The problem has been that the National Assembly has not set up a Budget and Research Office,” he said.

Aliero lamented that senators were often left in the dark about the legislature’s own budget.

“What is happening today is that we don’t even know and we don’t even see the budget of the National Assembly being presented here so that we can interrogate and understand the lines of expenditure,” he said.

He urged the sponsor to suspend the proposal until broader financial accountability issues had been resolved.

“My opinion is that the Senator should step down this motion. Let us get the house right first before we talk about the issues that the Distinguished Senator Karimi is raising,” he added.

Akpabio, while contributing to the debate, also faulted both the timing and procedure adopted by the sponsor, saying such a sensitive proposal ought to have been discussed with the leadership of the Senate and the management of the National Assembly before reaching the chamber.

“Senator Karimi, you should have discussed this even with me in the presence of the Clerk to the National Assembly and the principal officers of management so that I get clearance on what you are coming up with,” the Senate President said.

He questioned the wisdom of debating the creation of an Internal Tender Board in the open while lawmakers themselves lacked adequate information about the institution’s finances.

“Talking about Internal Tender Board and all that, should this be in the public glare before we clean up our house like Senator Yaro said?” Akpabio asked.

“We should start with ourselves and we should get the two chambers to know exactly what is going on.

“We should also debate and understand the budget. We should know how much is coming, what is going to where and what is going to where. This motion is premature.”

Following the intervention, Akpabio urged Karimi to withdraw the motion.

Before doing so, however, the Kogi West senator sought clarification over whether the Clerk to the National Assembly had discussed the proposal with the Senate President.

“Mister President, while I am withdrawing the motion, did the CNA discuss this motion with you?” Karimi asked.

Akpabio responded: “No, no. This is not correct. If it was discussed with me, I will not be opposed. I am not opposed to the motion but I am opposed to the content of the prayers.”

Accepting the position of the Senate leadership, Karimi said, “Okay, I am withdrawing the motion.”

Akpabio immediately declared: “Motion withdrawn.”

The decision effectively put on hold plans to establish the Internal Tender Board, with the Senate leadership indicating that lawmakers would first be fully briefed on the National Assembly’s budget, financial operations and expenditure before considering any fresh procurement reforms.

The debate underscored rare public admissions by senators that many members lacked sufficient knowledge of the legislature’s own budgetary allocations and spending, a development likely to intensify calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the National Assembly’s finances.