The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations and the Office of the Speaker organised a Citizens’ Townhall on the 2024 Budget and Appropriation Process on Monday, December 4, in Abuja. The Townhall was organised with support from Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). It was a platform for the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations to receive input from the general public on the 2024 Appropriation Bill recently presented by President Bola Tinubu.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere and the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and His Deputy, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Abubakar Bichi and Hon. Iduma Igariwey Enwo were all in attendance, among other legislators.
According to the Speaker, the House will review the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 to strengthen existing provisions to improve access to information and public consultation during all phases of the budget cycle. Specifically, he stated that the Act will be amended to require and define public participation in the budget process explicitly.
The Townhall was a platform for citizens, institutions, groups, including civil society organisations to make their input on the 2024 national budget estimates.