Clerk of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mrs Lyna Ocholor, says the House is committed to the effective and efficient implementation of the financial autonomy granted to the state legislature.
Mrs Ocholor stated this in her opening remarks at a two-day technical workshop on the Implementation of the Legislative Budget Framework in the era of Financial Autonomy.
The Delta Assembly Clerk pointed out that the issue of financial autonomy to the legislature was provided in section 131, subsection 4 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, saying that the implementation of the provisions as contained in the constitution must be given the seriousness it deserves.
Mrs Ocholor explained further that the recently amended financial autonomy law in the state as passed by the House in 2018, came with enormous responsibilities for account staff of the Assembly, disclosing that the two-day technical workshop was to prepare the staff for the task ahead.
“The reason we are here today is to have these experts take us through the budgeting process in this era of financial autonomy. This is so because this era is a little different from what we used to do in the past. Now we will be held more accountable on our financial transitions, the budget heads and the line items to be considered in our budget,” Mrs Ocholor explained.
The Clerk reminded the Accounts Officers that in few weeks time the Governor will be presenting the 2022 budget to the House, maintaining that they should be more professional this time around in handling the duties expected of them in the budget process.
“At the end of this training session, we will be better enlightened on how the budget will be brought up to speed and how the framework will be more enduring. It is my expectation that at the close of this exercise our work will be made easier”, she emphasized.
Mrs Ocholor paid glowing tributes to the Speaker, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori and the leadership of the House for the express approval for the training program, stressing “it is also expected that at the end of the program we must have developed ourselves to prove that every resource committed to this engagement is worthwhile as the House will always want to have value for its programme”.
“These experts led by the Director-General, National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO), Mr Nasiru Mohammed Saidu were consulted to prepare the framework and they are here to put us through the documents they painstakingly prepared over the last few months. I want to thank the leadership of the House ably led by the Speaker, Rt Hon Elder Sheriff Oborevwori for this technical workshop. I urge you all to give the training session the desired attention,” she emphasized.
The Director-General, National Assembly Budget and Research Office, NABRO, Mr Nasiru Mohammed Saidu, reminded the officials that financial autonomy does not imply the absence of probity and accountability.
While urging stakeholders to prepare for eventual challenges, Mr Mohammed Saidu, explained that with the autonomy, whatever that is due to the legislature is sent directly to their statutory accounts.
He said the budgeting process in the new era is a key aspect of the task ahead, pointing out that the technical workshop would address most of the expected challenges.
The Director-General also commended the Delta Assembly Speaker, Sherrif Oborevwori and his team for their proactive approach to legislative processes and procedures, maintaining that training and retraining of the workforce promote efficiency in the service.
Participants at the technical workshop were among others drawn from the legislative, audit and finance and accounts departments of the State Assembly.
