2014 BUDGET IS WASTEFUL, SHORTSIGHTED AND EXTRAVAGANT - ROL Collective

1. ​The Rule of Law Collective is a civic platform comprising Nigerians from all walks of life who through debate, discourse and civic action seek to advance public service and accountable governance in Nigeria through the fair, non-discriminatory, and effective application of laws.

2.​ On December 19, 2014, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance laid the budget proposal for 2014 before the National Assembly on the basis of the authority duly delegated to her by President Goodluck Jonathan pursuant to Section 81 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

Responses to the 50 Questions on Nigeria’s Economy Posed by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance

PREAMBLE

We are pleased to provide responses to a set of 50 questions which were submitted to us by the House of Representatives Finance Committee on 19th December 2013 (NASS/7HR/CT.32/1999). We are somewhat surprised by the content of many of these questions for a number of reasons.

Young Nigerians Interrogate the 2014 Budget

There has been widespread criticism of the proposed 2014 budget, titled “‘A Budget for Job Creation and Growth”, which the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (NOI) presented to the National Assembly last December. A spectacular feature of this budget is that it allocates 76.3% to recurrent expenditure (comprising personnel and overheads costs, including consumables of N3.7 trillion) and 23.7% to capital expenditure (N1.1 trillion). As it is currently structured, the proposed budget warns of a lag in infrastructural development, while more resources would be deployed towards servicing the skyrocketing costs of running government at the center.

The budget proposals provoked heated online conversations in Spaces for Change's Discussion Forum where a broad spectrum of young Nigerian professionals and experts in various fields interrogated the economic policy direction of the budget and the underlying preparatory processes. One recurrent question was whether the hyped macro-economic successes and brightly-colored foreign ratings of the Nigerian economy have translated to concrete social and economic benefits to millions of citizens. Discussants underscored the urgency for the National Assembly to take concrete steps towards adjusting the budget so as to make its pro-job objectives realizable.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Celebrating Trailblazers of Social Change

Let me start by saying a big CONGRATULATION to all the winners of Spaces for Change’s Social Media Foursquare Awards. We are very excited that this competition and the resulting awards have been so successful in its first year, deepening camaraderie and the bonds of solidarity among 5,708 members of Spaces for Change’s online platforms.  

Spaces for Change’s Discussion Forum is particularly famed for its e-conferences, leveraging new media technology and crowd-sourcing tools to promote public awareness and facilitate citizen engagement in policy and public decision-making processes. Both the administrators and members of the group capitalize on S4C’s strong online presence to promote citizen engagement in the democratic process, mainly using moderated group discussions and web seminars to interrogate policy proposals, official decisions and development programs with a view to enhancing public governance policing, social innovation and to restore inclusive economic growth.