By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
ABUJA— The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, has charged the National Assembly to activate already made commitments to allow citizen participation in the budget process so that the 2017 budget would reflect the aspirations of the citizens.

Welcoming the legislators back to work in a statement,Thursday, CISLAC also charged the National Assembly to enthrone accountability to intensify its monitoring of the security sector to complement the nation’s recent achievements directed towards stemming the spate of insecurity.

CISLAC statement by its Executive Director, Auwal Musa, welcoming the legislators back from the yuletide break, called on the National Assembly “as a matter of urgency, prioritise pending and important issues affecting the nation’s socio-economic development such as the Petroleum Industry and Governance Bill, openness and transparency in the 2017 Appropriation Bill, Constitutional and Electoral Reforms, Constituency Accountability and Sustainable Security.”

On the appropriation bill, CISLAC said:

“We encourage the legislators to activate the existing commitments for allowing citizens input into the appropriation process so that it can reflect the aspirations of Nigerians. They should also ensure that the budget process and passage is timely and devoid of scandals and undue distractions and sensationalism. They should also ensure that through the appropriation process and related legislations, commitment to addressing the recession is clearly demonstrated.

On accountability, CISLAC said:

“We urge the legislators as representatives of the people on the need for constituency accountability as democracy’s credibility and sustainability depend largely on the extent to which citizens’ participate and obtain feedback from their representatives.  We call on the legislators to strengthen their working relationship with their respective constituencies for constructive information and contributions to inform qualitative and citizens-led legislative process.