INGRA stress need for increase citizens participation in budgeting processes through public hearing

The Initiative for Grassroot Advancement In Nigeria, (INGRA), has called on the leadership of the Kogi State House of Assembly to deliberately ensure increased citizens participation through organization of Public Hearing during Appropriation process to ensure effective citizen’s participation in the Budget processes.

This was part of the Communiqué issued at the end of the 1st bi-monthly meeting of the state level advocacy and legislative engagement forum organized by the Initiative For Grassroot advancement in Nigeria (INGRA), with support from the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and FCDO at new age hall, lokoja on Friday 17th November 2023.

The Communiqué which was signed by the Executive Director of INGRA, Hamza Aliyu, also said there is need for a shift in focus from Recurrent to capital spending in the 2024 Budgets.

It added that there is need to reduce allocation of resources from Administration Sector to Social Sector to ensure better standard of living for Citizens of Kogi State

The Communiqué stated further that “the Executive and the Legislature must ensure increased resources to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Housing, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (MWASD), Youth Commission, and Disability Board in the 2024 budget appropriation.

“Stakeholders must immediately engage the relevant House of Assembly Committees with a view to addressing the optimal operationalization of the Child Rights Law, Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, Youth Commission Law, Elderly Person and the Aged Law, due to certain limitations in these laws and their enforcement.

“The Kogi State House of Assembly must as a matter of urgency appropriate sufficient resources to the Ministry of Agriculture to address issues of food security in the 2024 budget.

“Capacity building of leaders at all levels of Ministries Departments and Agencies should be a core criteria in appointments. There should be deliberate funding for capacity Building in 2024 Budget to cater for this

THE COMMUNIQUÉ IN FULL

COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 1ST BI-MONTHLY MEETING OF THE STATE LEVEL ADVOCACY AND LEGISLATIVE ENGAGEMENT FORUM ORGANIZED BY THE INITIATIVE FOR GRASSROOT ADVANCEMENT IN NIGERIA (INGRA) WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NIGERIA CIVIL SOCIETY SITUATION ROOM AND FCDO AT NEW AGE HALL, LOKOJA ON FRIDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2023.

PREAMBLE:The Level Advocacy and Legislative Engagement Forum convened on Friday, 17th November 2023, for its 1st bi-monthly meeting. The forum which comprises of stakeholders such from Kogi State members of Situation Room, Civil Society Organizations, Members of the Press and other stakeholders from the legislative arm, met with the objective to increase citizen participation in the legislative processes of the state and to perform a review of the Kogi State 2023 Budget and to chart a course of engagement on the 2024 Kogi State Budget with the legislative and executive arms of government of the state.

After a presentation on the 2023 Budget Review and 2024 Budget Engagement Roadmap by the Executive Director, Initiative for Grassroots Advancement in Nigeria (INGRA), Hamza Aliyu, a plenary session followed during which contributions from the participants including members of Civil Society,the Press and the participants from the legislative arm, were entertained and after extensive deliberations, the following highlights emerged.

OBSERVATIONS:

Availability of Kogi State Budget documents has been a major achievement of the Alhaji Yahaya Bello Administration and there was need to sustain this going forward

There seem to be a willingness on the part of the present Assembly to engage Citizens and the Civil Society

The State Budgeting process has always majorly been a bottom top approach, with little or no inputs from citizens

Bills and Motions by elected members of the House are mostly without inputs from their constituencies

Constituency meetings by elected members of the Kogi State House of Assembly are not consistent and effective in providing the constitutional platform for engagement with citizens

A review of the 2023 State Budget showed that there was a heavy sided focus on recurrent expenditure, to the detriment of the needs of citizens

The Administration Sector has consistently gotten the large chunk of the State Appropriation despite not been a revenue generating agency

Water, Sanitation, Housing, Transport, Women and Children issues, Disability issues, Agriculture and the Environment, were identified as areas that benefit citizens directly but are poorly allocated resources in the Budget

The Youth Commission, Child Rights Law, VAPP Law, Care for the elderly and Aged Law, which were established to cater for issues around respective citizen groups, are poorly funded in the 2023 budget

Advocacy and Engagement of the Assembly by Citizens and the Civil Society is not as consistent as it should be for effective participation of communities and groups who have elected these representatives.

Capacity is still a challenge within many of the Ministries Departments and Agencies

Recommendations:

The leadership of The Kogi State House of Assembly must deliberately ensure increased citizens participation through organization of Public Hearing during Appropriation process to ensure effective citizen’s participation in the Budget processes.

There is need for a shift in focus from Recurrent to capital spending in the 2024 Budgets.

There is need to reduce allocation of resources from Administration Sector to Social Sector to ensure better standard of living for Citizens of Kogi State

Executive and the Legislature must ensure increased resources to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Housing, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (MWASD), Youth Commission, and Disability Board in the 2024 budget appropriation.

Stakeholders must immediately engage the relevant House of Assembly Committees with a view to addressing the optimal operationalization of the Child Rights Law, Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, Youth Commission Law, Elderly Person and the Aged Law, due to certain limitations in these laws and their enforcement.

The Kogi State House of Assembly must as a matter of urgency appropriate sufficient resources to the Ministry of Agriculture to address issues of food security in the 2024 budget.

Capacity building of leaders at all levels of Ministries Departments and Agencies should be a core criteria in appointments. There should be deliberate funding for capacity Building in 2024 Budget to cater for this.