An Analysis of the Federal Budgeting Process in Nigeria: Implications for Institutional Reforms for Acheiving Timeliness.

Abstract

The paper is an analysis of the federal budget process in Nigeria. It brings to the fore the nagging issue of late budget submission by the executive to the National Assembly and the attendant weak budget performance. The paper reiterates the importance of government budgetting in setting priorities and influencing the economy and thus posits that the ability to make timely and sensible fiscal choices is one of the hallmarks of good governance. Incidentally, timely budgeting is far from the norm in Nigeria and the extant laws are unable to address this important fiscal challenge. Unlike other papers on the subject matter, this analysis advances a framework that makes it easier to identify the avenues through which the Executive (President) or the Parliament can and do bungle the various elements of the budget process. The paper concludes by proffering institutional reforms that will correct the identified lapses if timeliness is to be achieved in the budgeting process thus, making budget implementation effective.

Keywords: Budgeting Process, Institutional Reforms, Timeliness, Nigeria.