Budget Process in Nigeria: What Role for the Legislature?

Abstract

Budget process in Nigeria is an annual ritual that involves participation of different stakeholders with each exercising its role to make the process complete. This paper examines the roles played by the legislature in the budgetary process in Nigeria. Specifically, it assessed the role played by  the National Assembly in the planning and formulation, approving, implementing and evaluation of the budget in the country. Data used for the study were derived from secondary source. The paper found that the legislature in Nigeria, although faced with several challenges, is a significant player in the budget process whose role is necessary in the budget exercise. It concludes that successful budgetary process in Nigeria will continue to suffer setbacks unless those hitches bedeviling the National Assembly in the appropriation process are squarely addressed.