Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has declared open the 8th Annual Conference of the African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) in Abuja, where he was also unveiled as Patron of the Network. He stressed that public borrowing, when transparent and strategically applied, should serve as a driver of growth rather than a burden.
In his keynote address, the Speaker highlighted the importance of prudent debt management to Africa’s development, noted that well-managed public debt can unlock economic opportunities and deliver sustainable growth.
He assured that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has committed to a borrowing framework anchored on sustainability, transparency, and accountability. According to him, the 10th House of Representatives fully supported this vision and will ensure that all borrowings are strategic, targeted, and channelled towards transformative projects in power, transport, agriculture, and other critical sectors.
Abbas lamented that Nigeria loses an estimated $18 billion annually to corruption and inefficiencies in public procurement – resources, he said, that could be better deployed to infrastructure and social services across Africa. “These are funds that could build roads in Lagos, equip hospitals in Nairobi, or improve schools in Accra,” he stated.
To tackle these fiscal leakages, the Speaker outlined ongoing parliamentary reforms aimed at strengthening fiscal oversight, tightening procurement laws, and advancing the establishment of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO). He explained that NABRO would serve as an independent, non-partisan budget office, providing legislators with objective analysis to support evidence-based decision-making.
“Our ultimate goal is clear: to align public resources with the needs of the people – food on the table, jobs for our youth, and better public services across Africa,” Abbas said. He further emphasized that, while the journey is tough, accountability, innovation, and collective effort remain essential in achieving responsive governance and sustainable development.
The 8th AN-PBO Conference, hosted in Abuja, brought together parliamentary budget experts, lawmakers, and policymakers from across Africa to deliberate on strategies for improving fiscal governance, debt management, and parliamentary oversight in the region.
