ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT TO PUBLIC BUDGET CREDIBILITY IN NIGERIA

Effective oversight function of budget by the Legislative arm of government is a sine qua non to the success of a nation’s budget. Indeed, it is a constitutional requirement in every democratic setting. The conduct of oversight functions is one of the most effective techniques that the Legislatures all over the world have adopted to influence the executive branch of government. The National Assembly has been doing this since the commencement of civil rule in 1999. However, the experience has not been very encouraging, and the hope of getting the budget better implemented through adequate oversight and supervision by the relevant committees is not in sight. The study assessed the contribution of Legislative oversight to public budget credibility in Nigeria for the period 1999 to 2025. Self-administered questionnaire method of data collection was employed to collect data from a sample of 124 Committee Clerks in the National Assembly of Nigeria. The study employed multiple linear regression analysis with the aid of SPSS version 20 to analyze the data. Major findings of the study revealed that the National Assembly do not adequately oversight budget implementation in Nigeria at 5% level of significance. Also, the study revealed that legislative oversight by the national Assembly of Nigeria has positive but insignificant effect on budget implementation in Nigeria. The study concludes that the Legislature in Nigeria do not adequately and effectively carryout its legislative function. This is connected with the inadequate funding of the legislative committees, inadequate skilled and specialized personnel for effective oversight as well as lack of consideration of Public Account Committee’s report by the plenary session. Therefore, the study recommends that the report of Public Account Committees should be regularly considered by the plenary session in the National Assembly and punitive action be taking against defaulters. Similarly, the various committees in the National Assembly should be provided with adequate resources needed for effective oversight function to ensure budget credibility in the Nigeria.