Citizens’ Inputs To Budget Key To Ensuring Accountability – Amina Bala Jibirin

Public participation in budget proposal has been described as key to societal growth and development.

This was the submission of relevant stakeholders at a one day budget public hearing and town hall meeting organised by Budget Office of Tafawa Balewa Local Government in collaboration with Association for Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria ASSAPIN and Oxfam Line Canada, to drive inputs from the people at the grass roots.

The Executive Director, ASSAPIN, Hajiya Amina Bala Jibrin maintained that the need for public participation in the budget proposal cannot be overemphasised, stressing that the meeting was aimed at changing the traditional way in which government projects were being executed without taking into consideration the priority needs of the people by using bottom to up approach.

Hajiya Amina added that with this development, however, people are allowed to present their problems based on their priority needs to be included in the budget proposal

According to her, Tafawa Balewa local government is among the six selected local governments in Bauchi State that being supported by Oxfam line Canada, where such town hall meeting would be conducted.

The local governments are Tafawa Balewa and Alkaleri in the South, Ningi and Darazo in the Central then Shira and Gamawa in the North.

In his remark, the Chairman of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Mr Daniel Mazadu Danjuma who was represented by his Deputy Alhaji Dan-asabe Bununu, expressed appreciation with the presentations from various groups and individuals who were drawn from all the 16 wards of the local government.

Director Budget and Planning Department of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Malam Kamalu Umar Bununu, said the town hall meeting was aimed at interacting with various groups, associations and community leaders as well as other relevant stakeholders to generate areas of priority needs that would made the budget proposal of the local government for the year 2022.

Village head of Bununu Alhaji Salisu Muhammad, commended Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad of Bauchi State for executing people-oriented projects across the state and pledged their support for his administration to succeed.