Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has urged the Federal Government to evolve a new budget strategy that would govern the budgetary process and define the roles of the key players in the preparation, Presentation and approval of the budgets.

Under this arrangement, the budget should be ready for Implementation by January of each ensuing year to drive business activities and investment in the economy. This, the association says, is to enable the private sector operators whose business plans and projects are directly dependent on the policies and provision in the federal government annual budgets to plan for each year.

As has been the case over the years since the beginning of the current democratic dispensation, the 2009 budget was not signed into law until the tail end of the first quarter in March 2009.

“Experience from the budgeting process since the beginning of the current democratic dispensation underscores the need for  Nigeria to evolve a viable and efficient budgeting procedures” said, Simon Okolo, President of the association.

This to NACCIMA is definitely unacceptable to the Private Sector Operators whose business plans and projects are directly dependent on the policies and provisions in the Federal Government Annual Budgets.

It is a known fact that the passage into law of the Appropriation Bill and assent of the budget every year is of serious concern to business community, as it drives business activities and investment in the economy.

While proffering solution to the perennial late passage of budget, the NACCIMA president said for effective implementation of budgets, Government should ensure that the Economic Policy Coordinating and implementation committee continue to consult with the organised  private sector on quarterly basis and on proposed policy changes in the course of any budget year.

There is the need for government to ensure that the budget monitoring committee under the Ministry of Finance should not exclude the organised private sector seasoned and tested personality.

“The need for quarterly, half-yearly and full year publication of budget Implementation reports as a veritable way of ensuring transparency and accountability in government budget implementation has often been emphasized.”

The Association counseled that necessary measures for good budget review which will adequately capture and take care of policy shocks, non-performance of certain projects, short fals, and surpluses generated etc. in the reports should be put in place.

This, he said would remove doubts and restore high confidence in the minds of Nigerians and the business community on the ability of Government to demonstrate political will and sincerity to programme implementation.

Government should therefore evolve a new budget process strategy that would govern the budgetary process and define the roles of the key players in the preparation, presentation and approval of annual National Budgets, with a clear time frame, he said.

“The question in the minds of Nigerians, especially we in the private sector is: what has been done with this  money and what can government show for the amount it realised as against its expectation.”

We should note that the real and social sectors comprising Agriculture and Water Resources, Education, Power and Energy, Health, Manufacturing, Solid Minerals among others are yet to experience any significant improvements.