Conflict of roles in Nigerian government Essay

Government spending habit is supposed to be guided by the FRA, Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), Fiscal Strategy Paper etc. However, there are conflicts at times in the achievement of the stated objectives. In Nigeria, many have criticized the government spending and it was reported in both foreign and local media that Nigeria's newly found democracy has exerted too much spending liability on the government at all levels. Nigeria runs one of the most expensive democracies in the world (in relation to GDP) even more than America (the richest country on the planet) where the country borrows her presidential system of government. For a country that was only in 2007 relieved of its debt burden, escalating government expenditures amidst dilapidating infrastructures has attracted concerns and elicited strong interest from analysts and researchers. Incidentally, even when the MTEF and budget are prepared, they are not done according to the letters and spirits of the FRA.
Conflict of roles
Concerning budgets, there is growing debate in Nigeria between the executive and legislative arm on who has power to do what. While the law states that the president only lays a budget proposal, the national assembly is to appropriate. At best when the budget proposal is submitted in October (earliest time), the series of hackling and horse trading in inflating the estimates makes the president to delay assent until march(at best), hurting implementation. Notwithstanding, the National Assembly will always defend their insertion of humongous figures for small scale constituency projects as their only succor for their constituencies back home as there will be no other project to prove to their constituents of their sojourn to Abuja (the federal capital), as evidence of poor federal project implementation dots the landscape.
Fear of a fiscal overdrive
The Fiscal deficit in 2012 was approximately N1trn in normal terms or 2.85% of GDP. The deficit was funded by government borrowing through the issuance of securities of varying maturities. Little wonder, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has always been concerned about reckless government expenditure - its impact on increasing liquidity and high-powered money in the system. This makes CBN's monetary policy to perennially be restrictive in opposite of the executive's fiscal policies, unlike in other serious climes where monetary and fiscal policy flow in tandem. This goes to prove that our perennial deficit spending is inefficient. (Financial Derivatives Company Ltd, 2013) Ironically, it is important to note that in other serious climes where the economy is managed prudently, interest rates are driven down to 3 4 percent to rebound their private sector unto the path of recovery. Sadly, here in Nigeria because of defective spending pattern, the CBN is continuously funding budget deficits with interest rates has high as 16 23 percent!
The need arises therefore to analyze budget implementation with a view to identifying ways of plugging waste pipes and freeing funds for executing projects that will improve the welfare of the people. In doing this, attention is limited to the Federal tier of government.