Senate President Godswill Akpabio has revealed that he has never seen the budget of the National Assembly, despite serving as the head of the Senate and leader of the legislative arm of government.

Akpabio made the disclosure on Thursday during plenary while deliberating on a motion seeking a review of the National Assembly’s internal procurement process and the establishment of an internal tender board for contract awards.

The motion, sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), came less than 24 hours after the Senate President criticised the poor state of the National Assembly’s audio system and threatened legal action against the contractor responsible for renovating the legislative complex.

Responding to the proposal, Akpabio argued that lawmakers should first understand how the legislature’s budget is prepared and managed before embarking on procurement reforms.

“We can set up a small committee to work with the management of both chambers… because personally I’ve never seen the budget of the National Assembly,” he said.

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During the debate, Akpabio sought clarification from Senator Aminu Tambuwal, who previously served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, on whether House leaders had access to the legislature’s budget during his tenure.

“You were a Speaker… maybe in the House of Representatives, they show you?” Akpabio asked.

Responding, Tambuwal simply replied, “Yes.”

Reacting to the response, the Senate President suggested that the issue appeared to be peculiar to the Senate.

“You see. That’s the point. So, the fault lies here in the Senate,” he said.

Akpabio lamented what he described as the limited involvement of the Senate leadership in the management of the National Assembly’s finances.

“The way I do things, not that I’m nonchalant, it’s as if they make it a closed thing, and that the Senate President doesn’t have anything to do with the management’s funds and all that,” he stated.

Akpabio urged both the Senate and the House of Representatives to jointly examine the National Assembly’s budgetary allocations and expenditure before considering changes to the procurement system.

According to him, lawmakers should fully understand how funds allocated to the legislature are distributed and utilised.

“We should start with ourselves, and we should get the two chambers to know exactly what is going on.

“We should also debate and understand the budget. We should know how much is coming, what is going to where, and what is going to where,” he said.

The Senate President also faulted the timing of the motion, arguing that Senator Karimi ought to have consulted with him, the Clerk to the National Assembly and the management before presenting the proposal during plenary.

“Talking about internal tenders board and all that, should it be in the public glare before we clean up our house?

“We should start with ourselves, and we should get the two chambers to know exactly what is going on. We should also debate and understand the budget. We should know how much is coming, what is going to where and what is going to where. This motion is premature,” Akpabio said.

Following his remarks, the Senate President requested that Senator Karimi withdraw the motion, a request the lawmaker accepted, effectively bringing the debate to a close.