The President of the Senate, His Excellency, Dr. Godswill Akpabio has urged both the Senate and the House of Representatives to seek greater budget transparency.
Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio made this remark while speaking at the plenary on Thursday after the Senate stepped down a motion seeking to review the legislatures internal procurement process and establish an internal tenders board for contract awards.
Dr. Akpabio in responding to the debates said lawmakers should first understand the National Assembly’s budget and spending before considering procurement reforms.
“We can set up a small committee to work with the management of both chambers because personally I have never seen the budget of the National Assembly” he said.
His Excellency, Dr. Akpabio then sought to know from Senator Aminu Tambuwal, Senator representing Sokoto South and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, if the leadership of the green Chambers had access to its budget. He inclined that the Senate President has little involvement in the management of the legislature’s finances.
Distinguished Senator Akpabio added that the Senate and the House of Representatives should jointly examine how the National Assembly’s budget is allocated before debating procurement reforms.
“We should start with ourselves and get the two Chambers to know exactly what is going on” he said.
His Execellency Dr. Akpabio charged Senator Karimi to discuss the proposal with him, the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) and the Management before bring it to the floor.
The Distinguished Senate President who said the motion is prematured, remarked that the internal tenders board and others should not be in public glare before tiding up the House, rather the Senate should start with themselves, get the two Chambers to know exactly what is going on, how much is coming and what is going to where.
He therefore urged Senator Karimi to withdraw the motion.
Earlier, the Senator representing Kogi West, Senator Sunday Karimi, argued that creating an internal tender’s board would strengthen the constitutional autonomy of the National Assembly by allowing it to evaluate and approve procurement matters within its approved budget.
Senator Karimi made the motion, less than 24 hours after the senate president threatened to sanction the contractor responsible for renovating the National Assembly chambers over persistent technical faults with the newly installed audio system.
The Senator of the Kogi South West noted that the proposed board would oversee procurement and contract awards on behalf of the management of the National Assembly in accordance with existing financial regulations. However, several senators opposed the motion.
Senator Binos Yaroe, representing Adamawa South, questioned the oversight structure governing the National Assembly’s budget.
“Who scrutinises that budget? To which committee does the National Assembly submit its budget? It is important for us to have clarity on these points,” Yaroe said.
Yahaya Abdullahi, Senator representing Kebbi north, said the procurement process is not the legislature’s primary challenge, arguing that the absence of a budget and research office had weakened lawmakers’ oversight of the National Assembly’s finances.
“The issue of the problems that we have in the National Assembly regarding the management of finances, and the budget do not just solely lie in the process of procurement,” Abdullahi said.
“The problem had been that the National Assembly has not set up a budget and research office, of which there have been legislations over several assemblies.
“What is happening today is that we don’t even know, and 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.
“My opinion is that the senator should step down on this motion. Let us get the house right first before we talk about the issues that Distinguished Senator Sunday Karimi is raising.”
EmemMaria Offiong nipr.
Deputy Director (Information, Press & Public Relations)
17th July, 2026.
