In the last three and half years coinciding with the appointment of the Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission NASC, Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE along with his Commissioners by President Muhammadu Buhari in February, 2020 during the life circle of the 9th National Assembly, under the leadership of Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, Nigeria’s Senate President, the business of budget passage was a departure from the previous ugly trend.
With the appointment of Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE and his Commissioners to NASC, the journey towards instilling a normal calendar procedure to the country’s annual budget circle became eligible, owing to genuine and patriotic synergy between NASC and NASS leadership of the 9th National Assembly.
The journey to making history of seamless annual budget circle of January to December begun with the 9th Assembly and became fully and optimally operational and practicable in 2019, 2020, 2021,2022 budgets with strict compliance to the January to December budget circle, in line with the new spirit introduced by the 9th National Assembly.
What the new policy portends in accordance with the new leadership of NASC and NASS was different from the stretch of annual budget circle passage to June of the following years, while budget implementation and execution of preceding year’s ran for the whole of subsequent years , a trend been practiced in the last over two decades of return to the current democratic practice since 1999, that had impeded government activities in both capital and recurrent expenditures.
Since the primacy of the statutory functions of the National Assembly Service Commission NASC was not only to assist the federal lawmakers to providing laws, but also ensured the annual spending circle of the government both at the legislative, judiciary and executive arm was appropriated as at when due, inline with the mandate of the commission and by extension the National Assembly.
Despite the efforts of the fifth columnist, internal wranglings, distractions, inter and intra union disagreements among many others, the leadership of the commission had overcome the yearly rituals of containing both the seen and unforseen circumstances, as well as deliberate intentions to frustrate the laudable objectives of the current National Assembly from sustaining the January to December budget circle to fruition.
The complimentary roles of the Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission NASC since his assumption of duty in 2020, and the subsequent years particularly to the sustenance of not only budget passages, but execution by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government had resolved the glaring issues of budget padding, budget recircling, budget delay and other manipulations fall out of the robust leadership that trickled down to staffers of the National Assembly, who played a complimentary roles towards not only realising the laudable legislative policy, but sustaining the circle.
For the leadership of NASC under Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE and his able federal commissioners across the six geopolitical zones, it is glaring that the extraordinary display of administrative acumen had contributed greatly to the rejuvenation of the sane budget circle in Nigeria.
The positive development has not only assisted the anti corruption and graft stance of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, but had rejigged transparency and accountability in the public service compromised over the years.
Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE along with his Commissioners had adopted subtle approaches towards retaining the laudable objectives, giving the palpable industrial crises arising from workers of the National Assembly grievances and the subsequent resolution through a well thought out industrial agreements and arbitration to avoid delays on yearly basis.
The feat was achievable through a robust workers welfare packages to boost the morale of National Assembly staffers with recourse to trainings and re-trainings, as well as other entitlements.
With the success story, the National Assembly Service Commission NASC had become not only a critical stakeholder of the National Assembly by nomenclature, also by actions.
ABUBAKAR YUSUF, Writes From Abuja.
