The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA)  has faulted the huge budgetary allocation to the National Assembly (NASS) in the 2011 federal budget.

President of NACCIMA, Dr. Ademola Ajayi, made the observation at a forum on post-election review of the economy, organised by the association in Lagos.

“Review downward the NASS budget and return it to NASS for processing”, he said, stressing that the NASS allocation was increased from N111.24 billion to N232.74 billion, representing 109.2 per cent increase.

Ajayi said that the development was not acceptable and that there was the need to review the NASS budget downward to address “certain grey” areas that were not well addressed.

He said that it was worrisome that NASS could increase its allocation by over 100 per cent in the 2011 federal budget.

“We are concerned that despite public outcry and repeated reminders, the issue of national budget is yet to be satisfactorily resolved.

“This issue has once again resurfaced with the 2011 federal budget that was recently passed by our law makers

“We, therefore, wish to counsel that Mr. President should insist and return the NASS approved 2011 budget to the National Assembly for a review,” he said.

He said that the position of NASS could be responsible for the current high cost of governance and lopsided pattern of expenditure, with recurrent expenditure taking about 70 per cent of the budget.

On the new minimum wage, Ajayi lauded the new national minimum wage of N18, 000 recently signed into law for workers in the public and private sectors.

He advised workers to reciprocate this gesture through increased productivity to justify the new national minimum wage.

Ajayi also urged the National Wage Commission to ensure that the new salary structure would be implemented in a way to narrow the wide gap between the lowest and highest paid workers.

“There is also the need to appeal to the Nigerian public against undue increases in prices of products, services and rents that would wipe out the benefits to workers from the new national minimum wage,” he said.

Highlighting NACCIMA’s expectation from the newly elected public officers, he said they should develop integrated transportation system that would link cities by roads, rails, air and sea modes of  transportation.

“This will ensure that they feed into the rural areas so as to improve evacuation of farm produce to the market, as well as to industrial production sites.

“This will also reduce the well known urban drift currently noticed among job seekers.