A proposal to reform how contracts are awarded in the National Assembly stalled in theNigerian Senate on Thursday after lawmakers argued that the legislature should first address longstanding concerns over the transparency of its own budget.
The motion, sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Services Committee, Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi West), sought a review of the process for evaluating, considering and awarding contracts in the National Assembly in line with procurement regulations and approved budgetary provisions. However, the Senate stepped it down after lawmakers said the leadership should first examine the issues raised and reach a common position.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said lawmakers must first understand the National Assembly’s budget, including project allocations and expenditure, before considering procurement reforms.
“We should start with ourselves… We should debate and understand the budget. We should know how much is coming, what is going where. This motion is premature”, Akpabio said.
Karimi argued that reviewing the procurement process would strengthen the National Assembly’s constitutional autonomy and proposed establishing an Internal Tenders Board to evaluate and approve procurement matters and contract awards within approved budgetary provisions and existing financial regulations.
He also urged the Senate to direct the Clerk to the National Assembly to immediately constitute the board and issue guidelines for its operations.
However, Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) said lawmakers should instead prioritise establishing a Budget and Research Office, arguing that the legislature’s main challenge was the lack of transparency around its own budget.
“We don’t even see the budget of the National Assembly being presented here so that we can interrogate and understand the lines of expenditure”, he said, urging Karimi to withdraw the motion.
Akpabio also said the sponsor should have consulted him, the Clerk to the National Assembly and principal officers before presenting the proposal.
Karimi subsequently withdrew the motion.
The proposal came less than 24 hours after Akpabio threatened sanctions against the contractor responsible for renovating the National Assembly chambers following repeated technical faults with the newly installed audio system.
The National Assembly has faced persistent criticism over the secrecy surrounding its budget, procurement activities and contract awards, with limited public scrutiny of its spending and project execution.
