FG tasked on accountability in borrowing

By Faruk Shuaibu The federal government has urged to create more access and accountability on debt international borrowings used in funding annual budgets. Speaking during a conference yesterday, the Country Director of the International Budget Partnership, Olayinka Babalola, said a survey conducted by the organization shows that debt information exists, but it is fragmented, thus […]

By Faruk Shuaibu

The federal government has urged to create more access and accountability on debt international borrowings used in funding annual budgets.

Speaking during a conference yesterday, the Country Director of the International Budget Partnership, Olayinka Babalola, said a survey conducted by the organization shows that debt information exists, but it is fragmented, thus information on borrowing plans, debt strategy, loan transactions and debt implementation is available across different documents.

She however said the documents are spread out, uneven in detail, and it’s not presented in a single accessible way that allows citizens, legislatures, journalists or analysts to clearly see what is being borrowed, on what terms and for what intended purpose.

“So what this means is that while disclosure exists, it doesn’t yet fully support accountability. Second, the assessment finds that oversight is stronger in law than in practice. The National Assembly has a formal role in approving domestic borrowing and external loans. 

 

The Office of the Auditor General has the authority to examine debt-related transactions. But in practice, there is limited publicly available evidence of detailed legislative review of debt strategy during the budget process,” he said.

 

She added that the audit’s attention is stronger on financial and compliance issues than on broader debt management performance, thus formal oversight framework exists, but the debt of scrutiny is limited.

 

“The assessment finds that public participation on debt is very weak. Now there is very little evidence of structured opportunities for the public, civil society, media or other stakeholders to engage specifically on borrowing plans, debt levels or fiscal deficits before key decisions are finalised. So this means that debt decisions remain largely closed off from meaningful public input.”

 

She explained that the survey was developed because debt has become an increasingly important part of fiscal policy in many countries, including Nigeria.