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Senator Hanga urges FG to jettison ‘Envelope System’ of budgeting

The Senate Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Rufai Sani Hanga, has kicķed against ‘Envelope System’ in Nigeria's budget appropriation, saying the system should be discarded completely.

The envelope system of budgeting, is one in which a certain amount is assigned to an organisation to be expended for the year. Once an envelope is empty, you can’t spend any more money until your new budget period begins.

Speaking with Journalists on Monday on the sidelines of the 2025 budget defense/presentation by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), currently on-going at the National Assembly, Senator Hanga emphasized that the envelope system isn’t the best practice.

The Senator, representing Kano Central senatorial district, under the platform of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), called for the trashing of the envelope system, adding that it’s actually limiting.

Spark News Daily recalls that last week the Senate committee on Art, Culture and Creative Economy summoned the Minister of Budget and Economy Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu to explain why only four billion naira envelope was given to the Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy.

Irked by the low budgetary allocation for a ministry with the potential to increase the nation’s revenue generation, the committee led by Senator Mohammed Onawo Ogoshi, invited Atiku Bagudu to interface with them.

“The envelope system should be discarded completely. It’s not good. It’s wrong. It’s not correct. It’s a selfish agenda”.

He lamented that what the MDAs are getting as a result of the envelope system is not enough to run the organisations and bring about infrastructural developments.

The lawmaker said the best system is to allow the MDAs to present their proposed budget for the year, while the National Assembly carefully looks at them.

According to him, in doing so, the lawmakers will review the previous budget to see the level of performance and then look at the present one, saying, “And then you interrogate it thoroughly, scrutinise it, give your opinion, and then pass it or you don’t”.

Senator Hanga said the National Assembly is at liberty to either add or deduct the budgetary allocations brought before it by any agency.

He stated “Some government agencies who have not had vehicles for 15 years, and no provision was given to them in the envelope, how can they buy vehicles for the organization when the budget given to them cannot buy all the vehicles needed for the year.

“Of course, for example, Nigerians are hungry and you want food for the people. You want to encourage agriculture, and you are giving an envelope to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security that cannot provide food for more than two states. How can they feed the people?”

When asked if the envelope system could be a control measure, he said: “No, that is not the way to control spending. Envelope system of budgetary allocations is not a way to control spending. The only way to control spending is to look into the budget carefully.

“The budget is normally Overhead and Capital. They will bring the list of their staff and their grade lelevels and we’ll know how much is required per annual.

“Even the Capital, every project and their cost will be noted and determined in terms of costs. Yes, we want this or that. It’s okay, you need them or no, you don’t need them. That’s how to go, but the envelope system only restricts you to what you have been given”.

Prevail Inegbenose

Prevail Inegbenose is the News Correspondent of Spark News Daily - Nigeria's most sought-after online newspaper in Government, Politics, Sport, Entertainment and Religion. He is a graduate of Mass Communication with 17 years of active and practical journalism. Tel: 08039564796.

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