Who Can Do What? Delineating Legislative-Executive Powers in the Budget Process in Nigeria

Abstract

Friction between the legislative and executive arms of government in Nigeria is very common and more particularly pronounced in the budget process. Question abounds on the extent of the powers of the National Assembly to alter by inserting new items in the Appropriation Bill presented by the Executive. While the proponents of the near unlimited powers of the legislature to alter the Appropriation Bill rely on the fact that the Executive cannot withdraw any funds from national purse without the approval of the Legislature and that as representatives of the people they should determine largely how the funds of the people is to be spent, on the other hand, the argument is that the drafters of the Constitution couldn‘t have envisaged a regime where the legislature begins to prepare appropriation bill instead of limiting itself to its constitutional function of passing same. This paper examines the extent of the constitutional powers of the legislature cum executive in the budget process in Nigeria with a view to ascertaining who can do what? The paper finds among others that the powers to lay an appropriation bill before the legislature lies with the President and that where the legislature begins to inputs completely new items into the Appropriation Bill, then it has
usurped the powers of the President and is by that, serving as both the presenting authority and the passage authority. The paper
recommends inter alia an organic budget law to contain a timeframe for presentation and consideration of a budget and that
the wordings of the constitution which seems to permit ambiguity as to the extent of the powers of both arms of government in the budget process is amended for the purpose of clarity.