Budget padding: When the Nation calls on watchdog institutions

At a time Nigeria is deeply hit with the scourge of financial insolvency with the depth of limitations to fund capital projects in response to the pressing demands of the economy, the only rational necessity in public finance would be no less than those of prudence, frugality and creativity with  all rods of fiscal discipline. Too saddening, however, it is inconceivable that the scourge of such absurdity as budget padding-duplication, a sordid phenomenon among the wings of corruption in the Country, still take the phase of inordinate fixture from the Government’s quarters. The recurring notations of the parody annually in recent budgets of the Federation calls for deep thought.

Barely two weeks ago, 17th January, 2022, a civic-tech organisation, BudgIT Nigeria, had called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, the private sector and the international community to “urgently prevail on the National Assembly and the Presidency to urgently amend and eliminate the loopholes in FG’s 2022 approved budget,” following its discovery of 460 duplicated projects valued at N378.9 billion in the 2022 Appropriation Act, accusing the National Assembly of padding the Federal Government’s budget, among other allegations.   Raising the alarm in a statement signed by its Communications Associate, Iyanu Fatoba, issued via its Twitter handle, BudgIT had stated: “Our preliminary analysis of the 21,108 capital projects in the 2022 approved budget revealed 460 duplicated projects amounting to N378.9 billion. Recall that BudgIT observed 316 duplicated projects inserted into the 2021 FG budget approved by NASS. ICPC verified 257 duplications, while the Budget Office confirmed the existence of only 185 duplicated projects worth N20.13bn, after which it informed the public that funds were not released for the projects in 2021.” According to the watch organisation, the occurrence of inflated projects amounting to billions of naira directly linked to the State House and the Presidency is a cause for concern. “Examples include the N20.8 billion requested by the Presidency to construct a 14-bed presidential wing at the existing State House Medical Centre, N28.72m requested for the purchase of two units of 10kg washing machine and six units of LG televisions in the State House Lagos Liaison Office, among others,” the statement read partly.

BudgIT had quoted the National Agency for Great Green Wall, which was set up to prevent land degradation and desertification afflicting 11 States in Northern Nigeria and to boost food security in the country, as saying N1.3 billion or 64 per cent of its capital budget was dedicated to purchasing motorcycles, street lights and other projects outside its mandate. “This is disingenuous, especially as communities in these states are being ravaged by bandits and terrorists who often arrive in motorcycles. Likewise, four recreational parks under the Ministry of Environment have a total allocation of N67.8 million to construct ‘gun armouries’ in Cross Rivers, Kaduna, Borno and Yobe States, even though the Ministry of Environment is not a security agency. This raises the question – Why is the ministry of environment stashing guns in recreational parks in these states in an election campaign year and at a time when the country is facing unrest in nearly all of the 36 states?” it queried. In its observation, the River Basin Development Authorities under the Ministry of Water Resources, set up to facilitate the management of water resources for agriculture, has instead metamorphosed into an agency that constructs roads and supplies street lights. “A cumulative total of N6.3 billion was allocated to supplying street lights in 73 communities across the 36 states, while N14.8billion was allocated for the construction of 219 roads across 36 states; whereas the majority of the roads are the responsibilities of state and local governments and not the Federal Government. The loopholes for fraud in the 2022 Federal Government budget is a crime against the 86 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, an injustice to hardworking taxpayers and an open mockery of countries and lending institutions that intend to borrow Nigeria N6.29 trillion in 2022,” the watch organisation noted.

The submission of reducing the cost of governance in Nigeria, as a panacea to addressing the string of insolvency frowning at the Country, has come to assume a prime of place amidst plethora of recommendations. The call has become more reverberating as the Country slides towards the corridor of deep limitations to fund capital projects without borrowings. The resort to borrowings has drifted the Country to the edge of turbulence rising from the burdens of debt servicing which recently have seen the larger chunk of revenue accruing into the Government coffers going down into debt servicing at a disturbing profile of over 91 per cent.

As the strains continue to pose unhealthy conditions to the economy, calls on the Government to address structural deficiencies which has made efficiency in administrative patterns of governance in the Country, a subject of imprudence and profligacy the rot of the day, has become more justifiable. It is only instructive that looking within to eliminate fixtures and loopholes in the system of administration which have given room to too costly recurrent expenditures with unnecessary fixtures as well as illegal incursions which continue to cluster the system, have become sacrosant. Over time, the clogging of such mischiefs as payroll padding, clandestine recruitments, clustering of ghost workers, unnecessary travels and duplications among others, are deficiencies which have for long clustered to overwhelm the system of governance with overlaying costs putting before the Country, conditions of burdened realities shrinking the availability of funds for capital projects.

Last December, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), had disclosed in its review that it found about 257 projects amounting to N20.138 billion duplicated in the FG’s 2021 budget. In a reflection on how duplications and profligacy have been frustrating the prospect of good course for development in the Country, the Chairman, ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, at the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector, organised by the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the presidential villa, Abuja, December 2021, had expressed concern that the cost of governance in the Country has perpetually been pushed up by corrupt practices, including illegal recruitments, unilateral and illegal increase of salaries and wages, procurement malpractices and budget padding by some government establishments.

He was quoted: “Our findings indicate that the same malady of corruption afflicts executive as well as zip projects thus undermining government projections, escalating the cost of governance and denying Nigeria value for money. These maladies include poor needs assessment that disconnects projects from beneficiaries; false certification of uncompleted contracts as completed, deliberate under performance of contracts incessant criminal diversion and conversion of public property by civil servants, to name just a few. Other challenges relate to duplication of projects in the budget. ICPC review found that 257 projects amounting to N20.138 billion were duplicated in the 2021 budget leading us to submit an advisory to the HMF which was promptly actioned by the Minister to prevent abuse.”

It has become right in time all gate keeping institutions rise to the task of  monitoring of government activities, plans, proposals and procedures more closely than before. Such close marking has been necessitated by the depth of unchanging misgivings that the disposition of occupants of public offices are displaying in their roles. Such observations as those of BudgiT have become necessary to set the records straight. This is essential to set the public at alarm, and as such, a red signal to corrupt public officials to note that they are being watched and monitored. While the media in Nigeria have been playing it’s watchdog role, more is demanded, just as it behooves other institutional gate-keeping structures to rise to tasks of non-ceasing outcries against bad governance.

Nigeria is badly constrained by the scourge of maladministration, which financial recklessness and dubious schemes of corruption have aggravated. The administrative absurdity of duplication and padding, be it for dubious corrupt means, or either borne by administrative and oversight lacunas, or for whatever reasons as may be the case, have become unacceptable, particularly with its recurring notations of annual reflections. Nigerians, the media, the civil society organisations, among other socio-economic and political organisations falling within the architecture of watchdogs, need to rise against the various wings of skulduggery and insensitivity of public officials, who against their oath of holding public wealth in trust for the masses, have become instruments of recklessness.