Kaduna — Piqued by the Executive-Legislative bick-ering over the 2008 budget, Minister of State for Finance Mr. Remi Babalola has advocated for a national budget reforms.

The minister said the reforms would be predicated on improving allocation and operational efficiency of the three arms of government.

Mr. Babalola, who was represented by a director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. J.I. Zarewa at a two-day retreat on restructuring the national budget organized by the Policy Analysis and Research (PARP) held at Crystal Garden Hotel in Kaduna, said budget is key to the success of the country's democracy.

He said: "Nigerians are all aware of the various challenges that trailed the passage of the 2008 Appropriation Act thus it is believed that the occasion would afford a further opportunity to interact with all members on the important of restructuring towards charting a proper way forward in the budgetary process."

The Policy Analysis and Research Project (PARP) is a research arm of the National Assembly.

The Minister stressed that there is the need for a continuous interaction between the executive and legislative arms of government.

In his address, the Depu-ty speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Usman Bayero Nafada emphasized that the retreat is timely as it is held when the nation is facing great challenges in the budgetary performance.

The deputy speaker who spoke through the chairman house committee on Appropriation Mr. Festus Ode-gboke added that the lapses exposed by various committees of the National Assembly on the implementation of budgets are strong indicator of weakness in the budget process.

He reiterated that the current budget structure lacks in-built mechanism to make the national budget deliver in improving the welfare of the generality of Nigerians.

In his welcome address earlier, the clerk to the National Assembly Alhaji Nasiru Ibrahim Arab explained that the retreat has been designed to help lawmakers understand the budget.