Spokesperson for Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has said that the purchasing strength of funds allocated to the National Assembly has reduced.

Kalu said this in an interview with Premium Times.

He said, “The National Assembly is an arm of government, and cannot be compared to a ministry.

“If you look at the budget for the last 10 to 20 years, you will see that it has been within the same bracket.

“Also, if you consider the purchasing power and the exchange rate over the years, there is a very huge difference between what it used to be and what it is now. It can’t purchase what it used to purchase.

“When you look at the number of the oversight functions of the House, it has increased because the number of MDAs of the executive has increased. Oversight costs money. Don’t rely on MDAs, if you do that, you are compromised. The House on its own is supposed to have enough budget to do what Nigerians want them to do.

“A watchdog needs to be fed for it to do its work. You starve your dog and you expect it to carry out its work? You don’t give him food, you cage him and you expect him to watch the enemies come in.

This is why we need funding. This money is not going to individual pockets. That is why the committees are complaining.”