Each Ministry of the National Assembly must submit its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) proposals for the next financial year to the relevant Standing Committee by 1st March. The Committee must make its recommendations to the ministry by 15 April. If it does not, the proposals are deemed endorsed. Within 15 days of the Committee’s recommendations, the Ministry must report on whether each recommendation was or was not included in the Federal Budget, with reasons.
Why it matters for the National Assembly proceedings?
This PSDP review cycle integrates parliamentary oversight into the budget formulation process, not just the budget approval process. It gives Standing Committees a pre-budget role by enabling them to review and recommend the development agenda before the Finance Ministry consolidates it. The deemed-endorsement provision reflects the urgency of the budget timetable.
What is in it for citizens?
For citizens interested in development spending priorities, this provision creates two accountability moments including i) whether the Ministry submitted its PSDP on time to the Committee, and ii) whether the Committee’s recommendations were followed. If the Ministry ignored a Committee’s recommendation, it must explain why, and that explanation should also come on the parliamentary record.
Source: Rule 201(6)–(7), Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007
The proceedings of the National Assembly are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The current rules were passed on 23 February 2007 and have since been amended 21 times, most recently on 22 October 2024.
This post is part of FAFEN’s series on parliamentary literacy. Read more of this series here.
