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Nigeria: 2008 Budget - National Assembly May Veto Yar'Adua
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Leadership (Abuja)
23 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
Andrew Oota
The battle line between the National Assembly and the presidency, under Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua may have been drawn as members are in serious meetings , strategising on overriding the president's assent to the 2008 money Bill as soon as they reconvene from their two weeks break.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, for the second time since he assumed office as president of Nigeria, is withholding his assent to the 2008 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly.
The first was the one passed by the National Assembly on February 20, 2008 and lastly, the harmonized version passed by the ad-hoc committee of the National Assembly chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
A member of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the committee would not further tinker with the recommendations of the ad-hoc committee on the 2008 budget which was approved by both chambers of the National Assembly.
The source who pleaded anonymity said, "We were all shocked at the development, in fact we are not going to effect any further change on the 2008 budget, because we respected the president the first time, by saying, for peace to reign, let us take note of the observations that he made and, for him to return the budget a second time in the month of March, which would spill over to April, we would also take a look at the relevant provisions of the constitution.
"It is very unfortunate that a president would send a budget proposal to the National Assembly and insist of getting it back the same way he presented it, I have not heard of that anywhere , what that means is that he is not just trying to take a way our constitutional powers , but also trying to undermine our constitutional responsibility.
"We are presently on break, and like we said earlier, we are not on recess, the committees are still working and we are going to meet with the leadership of the Senate and that of the House of Representatives and find a lasting solution to this problem, we cannot continue like this.
"Don't also forget that it was the Senate that prevailed on the members of the House of Representatives to back down on their request in the first version of the budget, we still pleaded with them when the budget was returned to the National Assembly, but this time, I don't think it would be possible again, we would do what the constitution requires of us in such situations" .
The 1999 constitution empowers the National Assembly to veto the president on any Bill the president refuses to assent to after 30 days.
This provision however requires two-thirds majority of the members of the National Assembly.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua through a letter Ref. PRESS/134 dated February 22, 2008 made observations on the Bill as passed.
The Senate and House of Representatives at their sitting of Thursday, February 28, and Wednesday, March 5, respectively, considered the observations of the president, named seven members each that constituted joint Ad-Hoc committees.
The presidency refused his assent on the first Money Bill on the basis that the National Assembly had made stringent laws in the money Bill as well as high allocations for some agencies where they do not deserve.
Bowing to the president's pressure, the National Assembly Ad-Hoc committee on March 10, 2008 recommended a downward adjustment in statutory transfer to the National Judicial Council by One Billion Naira only.
The committee, amongst other areas, recommended a deduction in the recurrent expenditure in the sum of forty Eight Billion, Eight Hundred Million, Eight Hundred and fifty Nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Nineteen Naira (N48, 800,859,319.00).
The committee also adjusted the revenue profile in furtherance to the president's observation, removed the N100 billion increase to the independent revenue item and accordingly recommended the retention of the executive proposal.
The aggregate downward review was put at N150,800,859,319 billion, while reduction in the total budget deficit stood at N134billion.
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The committee had also granted the request of the president and deleted clauses 8 and 13, which said the minister of finance, could not reduce the budgetary allocation to any ministry without recourse to the National Assembly.
Also tinkered with was the mandatory 60days required by the National Assembly in clause 10 that the various ministries commence implementation of the budget which, was equally reduced to 30 days, following the observation of the president.
The president has returned the 2008 budget to the National Assembly the second time, because the lawmakers failed to delete clause 10 completely as requested by him.
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