Lawmakers answerable to citizens on public funds usage – Speaker

Bose Adelakun

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has said that the lawmakers are answerable to citizens on the usage of public funds.
Tajudeen stated this during a one-day workshop on ‘Assessment of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy of Nigeria and the Role of Legislature’ organised by the Directorate of Planning and Legislative Budget of the National Assembly on Tuesday

According to him, the oversight function of the legislature is aimed at ensuring good governance.

He said, “As I noted in my July 4th speech, if as lawmakers we ask other arms of the government questions about the usage of public funds, we must equally be ready to take such questions from the citizens at whose command we function.

“Monitoring and evaluation as a national policy is a framework designed as a way of institutionalising standard practices and culture of good governance in public investment and accountability towards improvement of socio-economic development of the society.

“The policy provides an opportunity to assess the performance of government policies, which enables the government to identify areas of successes and for improvement in strategies in resources application for the purposes of achieving good governance.

“The National Assembly, as the legislative arm of the government, is a critical democratic institution that is empowered to conduct monitoring and evaluation of executive bodies, by the provision of Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 constitution.

“Through this important function, the National Assembly has not only successfully exposed high-profile cases of financial mismanagement and corruption but equally helped in the recovery of public funds, nipped misappropriation in the bud, as well as ensuring the judicious use of public resources.”