Senate President Godswill Akpabio has disclosed that he has never had access to the National Assembly’s budget despite serving as the head of the Senate.
Akpabio made the remark during Thursday’s plenary while senators considered a motion seeking to review the legislature’s internal procurement process and establish an internal tenders board for the award of contracts.
The motion, sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi of Kogi West, came shortly after the Senate President expressed dissatisfaction over persistent technical problems in the recently renovated National Assembly chambers, including malfunctioning microphones and faulty electronic voting systems.
Speaking during the debate, Akpabio said lawmakers should first gain a proper understanding of the National Assembly’s budget and expenditure before embarking on procurement reforms.
He revealed that he had never seen the legislature’s budget and suggested the formation of a joint committee to work with the management of both chambers to improve transparency regarding budget allocations and spending.
Akpabio also asked Senator Aminu Tambuwal, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, whether he had access to the House’s budget while serving as Speaker. After Tambuwal responded in the affirmative, Akpabio remarked that the Senate appeared to operate differently.
According to the Senate President, the leadership of the upper chamber has limited involvement in the management of the National Assembly’s finances, describing the process as largely closed to the Senate leadership.
He called on both the Senate and the House of Representatives to jointly examine how the National Assembly’s budget is prepared and allocated, stressing the need for lawmakers to understand how public funds are distributed and spent before introducing procurement reforms.
