The Budget System – Its Objectives, Content and Budgetary procedures

The Budget System – Its Objectives, Content and Budgetary procedures

In the proceeding part, we stressed that the importance of laying a theoretical foundation for clearer understanding of the scope and limitations of our study. We also handled the importance and objectives of the course of our study. We have a concept in relevant investigation is not purely grounded in relevant theories and concepts we shall unknowingly rob our profession of its fresh and ethics thus jeopardizing the mechanical affairs of the profession. The adaptation of its wheels will breakdown and it will be unable to accommodate the tremendous changes of our time.

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Concept and theories provide functionally the frame work for problem identification and structuring. The experience of the past are generally summed up in concepts and theories and a foundation is thus laid for the analysis of present and future states.

In this case, we re to discuss “The budget system” the objective of the budget, contents of the budget document, budgetary procedures, Repetitive budgeting, the effect of inflation, politicians and political system, budgetary implementation, budgetary administration and estimation of accountability in Nigeria private and public sector. Now the budget system discussed

THE BUDGET SYSTEM MEANING

Meaning: The word budget (Gaid N. 1974) my be defined as a collection of documents which is the tangible representation of the governmental unit plans. It may mean the present meaning of annual estimates of revenue and expenditure and statement of financial policy. Thus, to budget, means to mate or make proper provision of meeting ones expenses.

Going by the Encyclopedia Britannica, it was defined as a balance sheet of estimated revenue and expenditure designed for financing an entity of a future period. The period here must be a financial year possibly (12 months). In the Encyclopedia Britannica, a period of 13 months is just the best for a budget as this would allow for comprehensive comparison guarantee accurate forecasting.

From the above definition we can now conclude that government budget is not money ready to be spent by government but it is merely estimates of expenditures to be embark upon within a year. The misconception by many that government budget is the money ready to be spent is hereby corrected. The view that government money is the money to be spent is not true. Budget is therefore the government plans within a given period of time., it is a plan of expenditures targeted to be incurred within fiscal period and the means by which the plan could be financed.

Budget word was derived from the French word “Budgette” which means “ a little bag” Even now the British chancellor of the Exhequer is still said to “Open his budget or receptacle of document and account when he makes his annual financial statement in England. Other countries followed but with less variances. The British Budget is made up of 3 section.

1. A review of collected expenditures incurred changes in the composition of national debt and other matters related to the year just ended.
2. An estimated expenditure during the forth coming year, both from consolidated fund and of the extent to which it is expected to be covered at existing tax rates.
3. Proposals of such changes (remission or increase) of tax as may be required by the expenditure proposed and more recently by the generally economic situation.

Let us take that government budgets are exclusively of themselves. By this, the writer means that surplus of the previous years budget is not and cannot be carried forwards to the current year’s budget. We don’t talk of physical cash in the budget. It is also pertinent to note that the means of financing the government expenditures depends on the ability of the budgeter to forecast accurately the resources and the extent of realization. The best budget is little avail if there is no resources for it execution. The main problem of budgeting are related mainly to insufficient funds and mismanagement of funds made available. The unity of budget means that presenting the full estimates of the revenue and expenditures in one mass and in one account should preserve the budgets.

But sometimes some countries offend these principles by dividing the budget into parts. Ordinary and extraordinary and relegating to the later exceptional or non-recurrent revenue and expenditure. This trends to laxity and manipulation of ordinary budget by the transfer of doubtful items to the extra ordinary side and weakens the incentives to deal at once with emergency expenses. Sometimes, additional budgets are amended to the main budget. Repetitive budget providing a part for special services like pipe borne water, telegram, telephones, railways and so forth. When such additional infringe the unity of the budget, they are to be depreciated.

In order to clarity the writer’s mind, it is widely known that budgetary plans have not been properly implemented in our country especially when you make reference to the budget speeches of the sate governors.

This is based on many variables that could not be controlled. Such variable as the tax payers would not respond to the taxes because there had been improper accounting of the previous taxes paid. No tax payer could have the zeal to pay tax any more if the essence of paying tax is not achieved.

As we can observe, from many comments made by many heads of states and governors of different regimes, we can conduct that there is poor implementation of budgetary plans.

The case now is that what then are the causes of these poor budgetary implementation. It would be helpless to answer this question by identifying some for the possible explanations of why planning in Nigeria and other developing countries have not particularly successful in the sense that the full implementation of budgetary plans are: Lack of statistical information, shortage of professional staff and uncertainty of funds.

The inadequate of statistical data in terms of the quality information obtained availability of information needed and timeliness in the most basic areas of trade. Production, investment and savings demography and employment make every attempt at comprehensive budgetary planning a heroic understanding. The machineries of the professional staff in the field of planning and implementation are the major problems in the under developed countries. Nigeria lack some professionals such as qualified accountant, qualified urban and Regional planners and the statisticians who would give the state the required plan on which the implementation could be based. Even in the area of leadership, the leaders we have and are having since independence and the method of their leadership has impeded the implementation plans of our states and national budget.

The few planners we have do not posses the required skill to tackle this effectively or if endowed with the skill, they may not be enshrined with the heroic minds. Many are selfish, only thinking of themselves all the time and this digress from the standard they are required of and be doing other thing all together. The plan and implement what id not beneficially required by the society hence they can benefit. If the writer should open the wound sustained in his heart on the ills through which those in the helm of affairs inflict in the citizenry the government as an authority will have nothing but to get him arrested and detained. But let me just in brief mention some capital projects samples of learning. The millions of Naira wasted on the importation of condom by the ministry of Health right from the time of President Ibrahim B. Babangida headed by the minister profession Ransom Kuti has been a crazy plan and implementation. We have people dying of hunger, young graduates and youths unemployed, people dying of different sicknesses and so many of our mineral resources lying fallow, yet the government has time to encourage sexual immorality. Why not invest these funds in any of the reasonable and profitable project instead of wasting the money in unprofitable projects ventures so as not to allow those of us who are engulfed by lust to end upon with a consequences that may occur.

There is another incidence that happen in Jos University. A report from the YWESCHWA company project manger Alhaji Lafiff when asked why the current library (worth #200 million ) the company was building as contract was awarded by Alhaji Shehu Shagari and since that time, the project was abandoned till Abacha government, Laffif stated that some of the preceding vice chancellors could not continue to embark on already award projects like that of the library hence there may not be any commission or percentages which could be given to them by the contractor. The former vice chancellors that succeeded the vice chancellors who started the project embarked on new project which they could have their own percentages or commission/discounts. It was then the vice chancellor professor Gornwalk that re-awarded the contract to another company.

Seeing and considering all those things happening we could see the signs of unpatriotic behaviors at the highest order from those former vice-chancellors who abandoned the University Library project until the cost doubled more than the former contract price. What our budget implementers are doing this nation required a very careful and perfect solution. And what type of solution that is required to handle these people? It is a management by control. The contrcatees and the contractors should have a force that guides them. The policy this force should use on those people in order to ensure an absolute application of the budget disciplines is what these Nigerians need. What I mean is the management otherwise known as theory X. the theory X as was used by Idiagbo and General Bugari is the very answer that fits these selfish people.

Another strong example of where these poor implementation of budgetary plans is crowing as a harbinger of economic abomination is the deleyance in the payment of the workers salaries. Taking health sector for example, the crisis of salary payment in the University Teaching Hospital Ernugu in the year 1993 till 1995 constituted some economic mess to the nation and a sin against the families affected. Simple that some of those at the helm of affairs diverted the money budgeted and allocated by the federal ministry of health in to their own private accounts in order to have interest that the workers were not paid for some months. Then workers like nurses and clerks whom you see would always be praying and complaining to even to his or her enemy that the family could not eat and the children were sent out of schools. Is it not this shock of pity, the wail of these workers tears and the pains of the hearts that attracted the attention of Chief C.C. Onoh to come to these poor helpless workers. He saw that strict could not change the mind of the top management. He had to come and render help.

Chief C.C. Onoh the former old Anambra state Governor (1983) from his private account release some amount of money to be used in paying these languished poor workers. The working who had done their jobs perfectly well and at the needed time but some body somewhere stepped and stood firm on the reward,, their pay, their sweat, the hope for which they were working for and I mean these workers salaries. What chief C.C.Onoh did for the workers of the Park-lane Hospital. Yet these fund are budgeted, allocated and released. But those debased minded set of people who only acquired knowledge of oppression in place pure wisdom to help those who needed help could not use the money as advised by the appropriate authority. Though the money released by Onoh was not free but as a loan. Yet it was a good help that came when things were going out of hand.

Other factors that jeopardize the fully implementation of this budgetary plan is the uncertainty of funds and the expected resources. The revenue collectors always thank their God anytime they are appointed for revenue collection. They albeit with the tax payers not to pay directly to the official collection receipts. These tax payers some of these tax collectors some bribes and that ends the whole cash who then was at a loss. It is the same government because of this expected money to be earned which many at times fails to come in, that some units of public sectors, do not meet expected expenditures.

Even if the estimates is expected to be accurate, there is no assurance that the collection will be 100% okay. The revenue could be collected accurately but the remittance of the accurate amount of the government is always zero. Therefore there are always uncertainties everywhere in the sectors of government revenue allocation and collection.

2.2     OBJECTIVES OF BUDGET

C.C. Ola identified about five main objective of establishing budget. In summary budget is made to facilitate the planning and control functions of management planning to achieve the government objectives and controlling to ensure that actual activities accord with these plans. To make everything vivid, budget objectives could be summed up in the following phases.

1. Forecasting: The first object of the budget is that it makes the government top look ahead. Government plans for the changing conditions that will prevail during the forth coming budget period. Planning a head of time is particularly relevant in relations to the existence of scare resources, before any private or public enterprises could compete with their competitors, such organization must have a forecast – knowledge of both social, political and economic stand of the given environment in budget, forecast help the government for the futuristic determination.
2. Coordination of activities: The next objectives is that budget is prepared to help in the coordination of activities. The activities towards the implementation of the budgetary plans should be properly coordinated and deviation from the plans checked. Budget is also produced to sever as a means of communicating the government objectives to those involved. When these objectives are noted then efforts are made to achieved these objectives. Budgets on the other hand are made to act as a motivational device for government. When targets are set the performance of government are evaluated on their ability to achieved those target.
3. Bases are control: Lastly, budget is established to form the basis for control against which actual activities can be measured.

2.3     CONTENTS OF BUDGET DOCUMENT

In relation to Mikesell and Hag a normal budget document should contain the following facts

1. A budget message
2. A budget summary
3. Detailed schedule
4. Work programmes
5. Estimated balance sheet
6. Cash summary statement
7. Draft for ordinance.

A budget message description of the budget. This provides a small review of the last year’s budget. It also has a function of outling the significant changes from the previous year’s budget.

A budget summary on the other hand, is a reduced budget that outlines connection link between the budget message and detailed statement of revenue and expenditure and this serves as a basis for negotiation between the legislative and the executive branches. It may also consist of statements balancing estimated resources against proposed expenditure ensuring a balanced budget.

But detailed schedule explains and amplifies the amounts in the budget summary. Cash summary statement should be provided in the document. It gives the summary of cash for the previous years, the current year and the future years. Work programmes enumerate the ways in which the entire execution of the budgetary plan is to take place whether by allotment or appropriation.

Estimates balance sheet is a computation of the estimated revenue and the expenditure in balance sheet form. This detects whether there is a surplus, balance or a deficit budget.

Draft for ordinance is a document with which the prepared estimates is submitted to the legislative body for scrutinization and approval.

2.4     BUDGETARY PROCEDURES

Since the colonial system of government the birth of their administration gave birth to the genesis of the budget system in Nigeria. Let us therefore look into the ways in which the government makes it budget.

It is a particular feature that no expenditure proposal can be carried out without the approval of the treasury. During the financial year, each department goes to treasury with a request of sanction additional expenditure either forthwith or from some future date. The treasury will normally require a reasoned statement to justify the proposals and if not satisfied at first, calls for further explanations. Acceptance and rejection of such proposal is dependent upon the discretion of the treasury. When doubtful points are cleared, the treasury authorities or refuses to accept the proposal in whole or part.

Where additional expenditures is agreed upon, the decision is referred to estimate clerk to note. Usually, on October 1, the treasury sends a circular to the civil service commission and revenue department requesting them to prepare and forward their estimate of expenditure for the next financial year. The estimates are checked by the estimate clerk against his record of document of the accumulated authorization and he calls attention to the changes to which no treasury authority has been given or point out that necessary provision has been omitted. He compare the estimate item by item with those of the previous year.

An item may have been increased by some temporary emergency in the past and watchfulness is required to see that it is not continued on the same basis when the emergency is over. This is entirely the responsibility of the estimate clerk. When for sometimes the actual expenditure has been taken considerable below the provision for specific items, pressure is applied for closer estimating.

It should be noted that to frame unduly high estimates would weaken the parliamentary control. Remember that unachievable difficulties of the chancellor of unnecessarily burdensome scheme of finance. On the other hand, inadequate provisions necessitates a further application to and disturbs the settlement made by the years budget. The estimates approved by the treasury with or without modification are preserved in details to the parliament.

When all estimates are sanctioned, a summary of these supply charges as they are called is laid down before the financial secretary and the chancellor of exchequer. An estimated fund charges which are noted annually by the house of commons, but rests upon statutory foundations until parliament shall otherwise determine such charges are the interest and management of national debt and payment to the road fund and to local authorities, the civil list (a life annuity settled by the parliament upon the sovereign at his succession in return for this surrender of the more valuable income for crown) salaries and pensions of the speaker of the house of commons, the judges the controllers and the auditor generally and others whose independence is shielded by depriving the house of an opportunity for criticism of their actions which would be given if their salaries were voted annually. Adding together the estimated supply charges and consolidation fund charges, we have total expenditure for which provision must be made.

Turning to the revenue side, the revenue department, example customs and excise and inland revenue department and the post office, furnish to the chancellor their estimates of receipts on the existing basis and on the basis of any charges which re-proposed. In farming these estimates, they take into account of state of trade the growth of population and other disturbing factors. After allowing for capital transactions such as interest or principal receipts from loan and miscellaneous revenue the chancellor is able to strike a balance of estimate surplus or deficit. This will be modified by any charges approved by the cabinet in respect of policy and a fresh balance sheet is thus reached which may be adjusted on the revenue side by taxed increased rates of old taxed, repeal or reduction of existing craft budget before the cabinet and with their approval to unfold to the house of commons the measures which are proposed to meet the financial need of the nation in the course of the year.

When the estimates have been prepared, what then remains is the approved if the writer may ask, how is the British budget approved? Upon the resolution of the ways and means committee, is based on a consolidated fund bill fund of sums to meet the grants in supply. The lump sum so authorized may exceed the total of the grant previously voted in supply and more than the consolidated fund Act is passed in each session. At the end of the session the financial consolidated fund (appropriated) Act completes the grants required and earmarks or appropriates to each service the money assigned to it in supply. From the committee of ways and means also springs the fiancé act which re-impose the annual taxes and makes any necessary charges in them or in taxation generally. After the passing of these two measures the budget is then not only a plan but a legalized one.

The most important aspect of the British budget is that of execution. To plan in one thing but its execution is another. The house of commons does not concern itself with the budget proposals when they gave received its assent, but is interested to see whether they work out according to plan and if not, why not. As mikesell put it, budgetary procedure is divided into three. This is in line with budgetary system. They include preparation, presentation and adoption and execution.

PREPARATION

This entails the development of expenditure estimates. Systematic collection of information is one of the first essentials for a good budget. This embodies all the works of collecting, evaluating and classifying of the information collected. Here it must be emphasis that the more accurate the information obtained for budget purpose the more the budget tends to be good. Thus it will be very helpful if full time employees are provided and given the responsibility of collecting and analyzing information for budget making purpose. Though principally designed for a fiscal year, a budget may include some elements which represents a long range plan for financing projects of such magnitude that single year financing would proper unduly burdensome to tax payers. We should be assured that past experience is basic in determining the prospective amounts spent in prior years and in the current year to date should be ascertained and adjusted for proposed changes in amount of services to be provided and for anticipated differences in unit cost. During this preparation, requirements for salaries and wages may be determined with arithmetical accuracy since the numbers of employees and rates of pay are fixed by low or ordinance. In the preparation, departmental or divisional request should be revised for errors or other obvious discrepancies, which might invalidate or discredit the estimate.

REVENUE ESTIMATES

Since a budget is not only schedule of proposed expenditures but also a suggested plan for financing them, it follows that reliable information should be available as to the amount that may reasonably be expected from each sources of revenue. Revenue estimates from showing for individual’s kinds of revenue the amounts received during each of the past two or more years for the current year to date plus an estimate for the balance of the year and finally, an estimate amount for the year covered by the budget.

When preparation of the budget has been made, the facts and figure are organized and recorded in a prescribed form in which budget proposal is to be submitted to the legislative body. This is then scrutinized and probably adjustment where necessary. Finally the amounts to be requested of legislative body will depend upon the amount thought to be needed for various purposes weighed against the revenue expected to be available.

ADOPTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Adoption and acceptance of budget is evidenced by the signing of the certificate of validation by representative of the legislative body and by the chief executive department. In a state like Enugu, budget of all local units must be examined and approved by the country tax adjustment board which is empowered to reduce but not to increase appropriations where necessary. Adoption and acceptance are characterized negotiation and compromise to be taken by the executive branch and the body’s charges with the duties of review and approval. Thus approval is based on the evaluation of public needs and services in relation to the taxpayers financing them. The process of adopting the budget is set in motion some months prior to the beginning of the year covered by the budget. When the budget has been adopted and approved, pans are ten made for execution.

EXECUTION

As soon as possible after the final certification of the budget public announcement should be made to tax provision for the coming year, especially if part of tax provision is new or if rates or other provision are different from those of the current year. These measures will facilitate collections where revenue collections normally lag in ach year. Arrangements for short term financing may be necessary and if so, arrangement are required by laws should be made in advance.

When it comes to the expenditure part of the budget, it mat be desired to regulate the use of appropriation so that only specified amount may be used sy from quarter to quarter. The essence of these is to avoid expenditure of all or most of the authorized amount early in the year without providing reserve for unexpected requirements arising later in the year. A common device for this regulation is through the use of atonements with amounts allotted for each period shown.

We should maintain once more the execution of the budgetary plans involved collection of revenues authorized for financing the expenditure approved. This embraces furnishing the information to those from whom the revenue will be collected, setting plans for collection, recording amount collected and enforcing payment by those who do not comply voluntarily compliance with the expenditure programme of the budget of vital importance. Expenditure should be made only for purposes approved by legislative body and not in excess of the amount stipulated.

2.5     REPETITIVE BUDGETING

Repetitive budgeting occurs when budgeting decision are made repeatedly scrutinized during the process of releasing finds. This type of budget lacks the analysis and evaluation of alternative programmes. According to Naomi and Aaron repetitive budgeting is best explained with examples. The first of such example is a statement made by a budgeter in partisan. It states, after approved before it allows any expenditure to be made. Another example came from Ceylon where another budgeter noted, we have ten projects. The treasury approved all of them. The figures appear in the budget passed by the parliament. During the year, the treasury said, we are running short of fund. The total must be ten percent. We don’t care how you do it. The situation is worse with the foreign exchange components. There are so many cuts, so many variations you can’t depend on it” according to this budget, the mere fact that estimates have been approved is not a guarantee that these estimates will be executed.

When the budgetary estimates are made an approved subsequent review and adjustments are made to the original budget. Again the writer deduced from the above statements that 10% of the original budget are usually cut off from the original budget during implementation. In case the departments that submit the estimates, will submit inflated estimates so that when budget estimates will have enough fund for their expenditures. This makes the budget estimates unreliable as asserted by the budgeter, you cannot depend on it”

Yet, the last of it all come from Burma as L.J Walinksy stated “Approval of an agency’s budget and its enactment into legislation by the parliament, did not means that the agency was the there upon free to spend the money, except for the payment of existing staff and routine expenditures. Items which involved additions to staff procurement of supplied in excess of minimum values and most other expenditures had to go fist to the ministry of finance for financial section. This meant that to a large part of an agency’s budget was still tentative and subject to two further reviews before authorized money could be spent. The disorderly way in which the agencies were again called upon to revise and re-submit their budgetary requirement outside the budgetary process. All these things are borings and attracts to a great extent the implementation of the budgetary plan.

The major consequences o repetitive budgeting are

1. Delay in implementation because of non provision for fund in time. There is a direct relation between the provision of funds and implementation of budgetary plans. If funds and implementation of budgetary plans if funds are provided for the implementation cannot be commenced. If funds are delayed invariably it means that implementation is also delayed.
2. The original approved budget is not seriously. This is because, not withstanding that the original budget has been approved, other sub budgets will still be made and later tends to dominate the former. Accurate estimate are no longer submitted for approval, rather estimate are inflated so that when they are cut down, there will be enough estimate to cover the project.
3. Effects on investment: Investment suffers because its implementation is usually postponed as a result of non provision of funds. This sometimes results in abandoned projects. Note that when there is a problem of cash flow, recurrent expenditures including salaries get first claims on the government revenue and capital project gets the left over. The net effect of this is that an increase larger share of actual expenditure go into consumption rather than capital payments. This on the other hand results to lack of industrial establishments and unemployment tends to rise all the time.

The major advantages of this repetitive budgeting is that it enables the ministry of finance to know the urgent of the most important projects to be implemented. This is because where the fund for implementation is not available or rather not provided the departmental expenditure will ensure that with the little funds they received from the ministry of finance, they will provide the most pressing needs of the society. That is something that will benefit the people under them, thereby ensuring a judicial utilization of the funds made available to them.

2.6     EFFECT OF INFLATION ON BUDGET

Due to the high rate of inflation in current years a lot of damage is done to the budgetary plans and implementation. This inflation wrecks havoc to the budgetary calculations no one can predict at the beginning of the year how much the funds authorized will be worthy during the rest of the year. The president of Socharto has this to say on this issue when he enforced a balanced budget in Indonesia “It used to be that budget were not completed until the end of the year to which they applied nobody knew how much money was being spent and it did. Not matter how much the way inflation was going. If we budgeted for a new school at the beginning of the year, by the end of the year, the value of money would be such that we could not even build a toilet. This was a tremendous disincentive to any body working on the budget and may wound up not submitting one at all” On this related quotation, I am of the opinion that inflation has an adverse plans and in no doubt, this has contributed to and a times led to the abandonment of most capital projects in Nigeria. Hence improper budgetary implementation

2.7     POLITICIANS POLITICAL SYSTEM AND BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION

The priorities of the political system in the early 60s – Nigerian independence and personal and political interest of the leaders who come to power under the political system were very much in conflict with the interest of the plan implementation. This is in short the utmost serous barrier of plan implementation where the interest of the leaders are not in concomitant with the objective plans for this reason plan implementation has been affected in this our country Nigeria. Not only that, the regional orientation of Nigeria polities and politicking conflicted with the attempt to implementation the priorities set forth under the inspiration of the federal planners.

2.8 PROPER ACCOUNTABILITY – AN APPRAISAL STEPS TO ACCOUNTABILITY

According to professor Agwu Akpala (1976) in one of his management books maintained that in management system, we have many theories. These theories embrace: theory X: This is the system of management by control we equally have theory Y which is the system that gives way to management by control and action was a befitting system that successfully worked in Nigeria. It is a management by objective. We also have theory Z: this system embraces the combination of the theory X and theory Y we also have the range the theory.

Considering the above systems of management in relation to the steps to proper accountability in Nigeria, we can see that it was only the theory X that ever worked. The theory X which is the system that gives way to management by control and action was a befitting system that successfully worked in Nigeria. It is a management that entails the use of force to coarse lazy greedy and selfish people to work and produce especially towards proper accountability. This was the system that general Idiagbo/Buhari used in their regime to enforce accountability and fair management. Taking example therefore from our experience on Idiagbo/Buhari regime,. The theory X is then seen as the best system of management suitable for the typoe of people in Nigeria. The government of Buhari disciplined the people of Nigeria within the short span of the regime (6 months)

In effort therefore to encounter proper accountability for Nigeria, this theory has been attempted by some leaders to enforce accountability. In 1966 Major Kaduna Emeka Nzeogwu had in mind when he plotted the coup de’tat but luck ran against him and he could not live to fully implement it. General Murtala Mohammed has the same intention but was interrupted by Dinka’s coup de’tat on 13^th February 1975. general Buhari and Idiagbo utilized the system for about six months but could not stay longer in office. But when the military political wizard General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) used the craftily combined the theory with theory Y just to deceive people from calling him a tyrant. We could see how the theory Y is implied by I.B Babangida had adversely our economy especially our banking systems and the parastatals

Facing the current budget and steps to proper accountability let us see the Abacha regime and the theory in practice and also the effect on our economic recovery and assurance to proper accountability in section of the economy. But the big question was this can General Abacha who has been in power with General IBB when the economy finally crumbled, could equally set up to recover the economy of this nation? The answer is yes. King Nebucadnezzar of Babylon was a stubborn King but when Almighty warn him, he whole heartedly repented and come back to a good life. From all indications, General Abacha has realized that he has been running off the leaders track he has repented and has come back in short he has woken up to recover the economy which he was a key party to loot.

Within the year of 1995, the Abacha government set up the failed banks tribunal to find out the causes of the distresses in our banking systems. These banks are spear headed by the Nigeria Deposits Insurance Corporation (NDIC). The efficiency of this tribunal is clearly shown in our national dailies. It was reported that the old cross river state government had been taken to the failed banks tribunals in Lagos over an alleged #15 million debt owed to mercantile banks of Nigeria plc. Incidentally, the bank was owned by the state which becomes the second public institution after Adamawa state to be sued at the tribunal by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance corporation (NDIC). The parties joined in the suit were the cross river state task force fo rthe construction of Ika Ogun market in calabar municipality on behalf of the principal government in September, 1985. according to NDIC the two administrator of the present states later agreed to settle the loan. If it was later paid, the it will be a very good step to the proper accountability in the economic sector.

This article was extracted from a Project Research Work Topic

“ACCOUNTABILITY AND BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN NIGERIA

(A CASE STUDY OF MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ENUGU)”

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