Akpabio’s 10th Senate and the Sustenance of January – December Budget Circle

By ABUBAKAR YUSUF.

Senator Godswill Akpabio, the 10th National Assembly Chairman and Senate President has been doing the unthinkable since assumption of duty as the Senate President in June, against other negative predictions, particularly as he was coming from the Executive arm of government, even though, a one time member of the red chamber.

His ascension to the Senate Presidency was justified from his activities both at plenary, committees, visits, oversights, screenings among many numerous other activities involving the top management at the legislative arm of government of Nigeria.

Twice in six months circle, Akpabio’s Senate presidency had gathered former principal officers of the National Assembly since 1999 to chart a new course for the current Assembly and also organized a ‘Tax Reforms’ seminar involving the members of the legislative/executive arm of government.

The Senate President who have proved cynics completely wrong from his national and international engagements crowned his achievements with the recent passage of the 2024 appropriated budget and end signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Not minding his tight official schedules and private engagements, he resolved and shove aside all other pressing matters except matters of urgent national importance, that will harness the budget circle of January to December, that had existed in the last 9th Assembly.

The uncommon achiever of our time ensured the passage of 2024 budget on the 31st December, 2023 to agree with the tradition of the January to December budget circle outside on a working day, an indication of a synergy between the Executive and the Legislative arm of government towards ensuring good governance.

Akpabio’s National Assembly leadership carried out a wholistic assessment of budget proposals from government Ministries, Departments and Agencies in conjunction with the green chamber that arrived at achieving and maintaining the best practice and transparent budget time table.

Gone where those days of budget delays and passage that had skipped to the June of the subsequent years, that had created yearly budget manipulations of all sorts and non implementation of the Nigeria’s annual budgets before now.

The uniqueness in the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio was settling down six months in his first term appointment to legislate and passed the 2024 national budget into fruition.

The uncommon experience garnered from Executive arm as two term Governor of Akwa Ibom state, a cabinet Minister and Senator had culminated into the current success story of the 10th Senate and by extension the National Assembly leadership.

No doubt, the passage and signing by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the 2024 budget appropriation will affect the economic, social and political development of the country positively in all strata.

Written By ABUBAKAR YUSUF, A Public Affairs Analyst on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.