Following complaints from the Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari is unable to sign the 2016 appropriation bill into law due to absence of details, the House of Representatives yesterday implored the president to assent to the bill without the details.
The House confirmed that details of the passed budget will be sent to the president in two weeks’ time.
Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, who disclosed this yesterday while briefing National Assembly correspondents, explained that budgets are normally assented to before the details are sent, adding that former President Olusegun Obasanjo signed budgets during his reign without details, so, Buhari can also do so.
Jibrin said: “We have passed the budget and, at the moment, we are working on the details. In order for the nation to move forward and avoid stagnation of administrative processes, the tradition is that the bill is passed and forwarded to the Presidency for assent, while the lawmakers continue to work on the details.
“There is nothing abnormal about this practice and yet nothing abnormal about a president assenting a budget before or after seeing the details. In any case, the budget details are usually sent within a week or two after passing the budget.”
He assured that: “we would take a week or two to work on the details. We are doing the final harmonisation checks here and there that should not take more than a week or two.”
According to Jibrin, “we have instances of President Obasanjo signing the budget without the details; we came to President Umaru Yar’Adua who always preferred to see the details. So, if President Buhari prefers to see the details before assenting to the bill, I don’t think we should make a big deal out of it. It’s absolutely normal.”
He explained that “in view of the inconsistencies, errors, omissions and padding that characterised the 2016 Budget, it would be unpatriotic of the National Assembly to forward the budget details without being extra-careful, meticulous and cautious in discharging its duties. This is to ensure we do not make same mistake that the executive made.
“The 2016 Budget is the most challenging budget the National Assembly has ever passed in its recent history. Taking into account the many controversies and omissions, particularly in NYSC, prisons, pensions, personnel shortfalls, among others, the budget failed in many respects to connect with the policy thrust of the government.
“The National Assembly Appropriation Committees worked round the clock to address some of the omissions, bring up to date allocations in the budget towards the policy direction of Mr. President, particularly issues relating to security, anti-corruption and economic diversification.”
He said it will be unfair for the Presidency to accuse the National Assembly of delaying the budget.
“It is, therefore, unfair for accusing fingers to be pointed at National Assembly when the Presidency defers or delays assent to the budget. Nowhere in the world that a budget is presented to the parliament, and expect it to be passed without subjecting it to the rigours of scrutiny, debate and painstaking processes and inputs of the parliament.
“When all these things have taken place, we would all agree that it will be very difficult for anybody to sit and start throwing stones at the National Assembly,” he said.
Jibrin noted that “with all these series of challenges in the course of working on the budget, I doubt very much that the executive or Presidency, knowing fully what has transpired in the last few months, will be throwing stones at the National Assembly.
“The general public should note that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and 2016 budget proposal came to the National Assembly very late. You will also recall that a lot of dusts were raised over different versions of the budget circulated in the National Assembly. Further, some ministers disowned the content of the budget during defence before the National Assembly.
“Amidst these inconistencies and discrepancies, the legislature had been deeply engrossed in perfecting the anomalies, ironing out of the wrinkles and stretching the twists inherent in the 2016 Appropriation Bill.
“The appropriation committee needs to scrutinise the original proposal sent by the president vis-àvis the reports of various standing committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate to arrive at a clean copy of the budget details. This will, in no way, affect any envelop already passed or the aggregate expenditure.”
It will be recalled that the Presidency had, on Tuesday, said that Buhari will not be able to sign the 2016 appropriation bill into law because of the failure of the National Assembly to send details of the bud-get as passed by both chambers last week.
But in a sharp reaction to the House position, the Presidency has insisted that it is waiting for the details to act on the budget.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Reps), Hon. Abdulrahman Suleiman Kawu, in a statement issued in Abuja said the president will not sign the budget until the details are provided.
Kawu said: “Once the president gets the budget, he and his team will look at the details of what the National Assembly has passed. If there is any observation, he will send it back to the National Assembly and if not, he will assent it.
“In view of the ongoing debate about the 2016 Appropriation Bill passed by the National Assembly on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, I wish to use this medium to inform Nigerians that one week after the passage, the Presidency is yet to receive the budget details.”
The presidential aide, who thanked the National Assembly for working tirelessly on the budget, however said: “We are waiting for the National Assembly to finish with the details and transmit same to Mr. President.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the current National Assembly has not transmitted any budget details to President Muhammadu Buhari let alone for him to sign it. Thus, it is pertinent to inform Nigerians that the budget details are yet to reach the president for his scrutiny and subsequent assent.”
It was observed that the Senate Committee on Appropriation was still busy, putting finishing touches to the document.
When newsmen visited the office of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Danjuma Goje, yesterday, he was said to be busy with some other senators.
Although the identities of some of the senators in his office could not be ascertained at the time of visit, the Deputy Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Sonni Ogbuoji, was at the meeting.
Also, while journalists were still waiting to get the true position of the budget from Goje, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Francis Alimikhena, who is a member of the Appropriation Committee, walked into the office.
Journalists, who were desperately waiting to be briefed by Goje, got disappointed when he came out and angrily queried why the newsmen gathered in his office without invitation.
He said: “wa ya kira su? wa ya kira su? wa ya kira ku? (meaning: who called them? who called them? who called you?)”
But Ogbuoji carpeted the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for breeding up another round of controversy around the 2016 budget.
He said that the APC did not know why it came to governance, pointing out that it was the party’s ignorance that made it to resort to blame game.
“What I can tell you is that APC does not know why it came to governance. Up till now, they are still looking for who to blame. When they are ready for governance, they will tell Nigerians”, he said.
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