Several members of the Bakassi Legislative Assembly have described the process leading to the submission of the 2026 budget as “illegal” and contrary to legislative procedure, demanding that the document be withdrawn and subjected to proper scrutiny by the House.
The lawmakers raised the alarm during plenary on Thursday following explanations by the Clerk of the Assembly, Mrs. Jesam Odu, that the 2026 budget had been written, submitted and assented by the Chairman of Bakassi Local Government, Effiong Etim Okon, before the end of December.
Hon. Miriam Okon (Ward 3) told the House that the budget did not pass through the required stages of legislative consideration, including second reading, committee review and public hearing, arguing that any budget approved outside these processes could not stand.
“If the budget had been approved without legislative changes and without going through the normal process, then it is illegal,” she said, adding that elected councillors were denied the opportunity to make constituency inputs.
Echoing the concern, Hon. Ita Edet Nyoki (Ward 5) questioned the justification of time pressure cited for the submission, noting that other local government councils were still processing their budgets. He said the alleged exclusion of councillors amounted to stripping them of their constitutional responsibility to represent their wards.
The Deputy Leader of the Assembly and Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Prince Mkpeti (Ward 6), described the development as unprecedented in Bakassi Local Government and Cross River state, insisting that no budget could be validly submitted or implemented without the involvement of the Assembly and its committees.
“We cannot have a situation where a budget is taken to the chairman without the knowledge of the House. That kind of budget cannot be forced on the people,” he said, calling for the document to be returned for proper legislative action.
Other lawmakers, including Hon. Ene Edet (Ward 4), Hon. Nkoyo Effiong Okon (Ward 9) and Hon. Kenneth Orok Edem (Ward 8), also condemned the process, describing it as a serious breach of legislative norms and an affront to the authority of the Assembly.
Responding to the allegations, the Clerk of the Assembly apologised to members, admitting that the budget was submitted without the direct involvement of the leadership. She explained that her action was based on the instructions of the Director of Budget in the council regarding submission deadlines from the supervising ministry.
“I am very sorry for taking the budget without the leader. I was working based on the information available to me at the time,” she said.
However, the Leader of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Grace Bassey, rejected the explanation, stating that the Clerk had no authority to approve or submit a budget without legislative approval, and that the House had been undermined.
Lawmakers subsequently demanded that the 2026 budget be reversed and subjected to full legislative scrutiny in line with established procedures.
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