Leadership (Abuja)
Philip Nyam
23 May 2008
There was a mild drama in House of Representatives yesterday as the plenary turned rowdy over the debate on the delay in the implementation of the 2008 Appropriation Act and directed President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to as a matter of urgency commence a faithful implementation of the budget.
The House also summoned the minister of finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, to appear before its joint committees on finance, appropriation, national planning, due process and justice next Wednesday to answer questions relating to the implementation of the budget.
The rowdy session was occasioned by disagreements over the alleged improper implementation of the budget by the executive.
Though the President had signed the Appropriation Bill into law on April 17, 2008, the Ministry of Finance is alleged to have passed on a circular to ministries and agencies of government directing that they implement the original budget draft and not the version passed by the National Assembly.
Hon. John Enoh, chairman of the Committee on Finance, who moved a motion under matters of Urgent Public Importance on the Budget citing Order 8 Rule 4(1& 3), complained that in spite of the efforts being put in place by the House to ensure that the budget was implemented, the minister of finance was not cooperating with them.
In a motion seconded by Hon. Dickson Henry (PDP, Bayelsa), Enoh said his committee, along with Committees on Appropriations in both chambers of the National Assembly and the budget Office in the Presidency, took the Appropriation Bill through a meticulous process before it was finally approved by the Presidency, therefore it was an insult that the Executive was yet to start its implementation.
"Members after members sought the leave of the House to present this budget and I think it was because of the issues at hand at the time that it could not be taken at the time. Even after we have done and passed the budget, there are still issues from the Executive on this budget.
"We started the year on a good note. The benchmark for the budget was US$59, and the subheads were based on sound projections, so this government was expected to get down to work to see roads tarred, boreholes sunk and power in place, because Nigerians are dying to see power supply. Not this deliberate attempt by the Ministry of Finance to discredit this House by issuing circulars to ministries to hold on implementation.
"I have read some stories in newspapers saying that the minister of finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, has issued circulars to ministries on the budget, telling them to hold on implementation. I was privileged to be at a meeting where we agreed that the budget should be passed before we make amendments later, but more than one month after the passage of the budget, there have been various attempts by the executive, especially the Ministry of Finance is going ahead to sideline key subheads in the budget.
"We hear the minister of finance is either going for one IMF meeting or one World Bank meeting or ADB meeting.
"The minister has not even considered it fit to respond to invitations by the National Assembly after several invitations. I think we are dealing with an individual that has scant regard for the National Assembly. I think there is a deliberate mischief on this budget on the side of the Executive, and the earlier this House rose up on this matter the better. What this House must insist on is one: unless the supplementary budget is bordered on the provisions in the 2008 Budget it (Executive) would bring to us, it would not be accepted", he submitted.
Minority leader, Hon. Muhammed Ali Ndume, in his submission, recounted the meetings with the Executive on the budget, warning that if not resolved peacefully, the continued face-off between the Presidency and the National Assembly would amount to an impeachable offence.
"When we invited members of the Executive we raised a complaint that we had no input in the budget and that we needed to include some projects in the budget that would directly affect the people we represent. Because no member of the Exco can claim to know better than us who represent the people of this country.
"We explained to them that additions, subtractions or whatever were not personal but reflected the needs of our people. We told Mr. President that this budget was not a personal thing, but the Presidency is taking it as a personal thing. We included some of these things (projects), because we feel that if we did not include them, our people would ask us that: what did you do for us? I feel strongly that there is a need for this House to resolve to meet the President, because, if this issue is not resolved amicably, that means an impeachable offence has been committed."
Former speaker pro- tempore, Hon. Terngu Tsegba (PDP Benue), criticised the minister of finance, describing him as troublesome.
But he called on the House to continue discussing with the Presidency on the budget as, according to him, the Ministry of Finance may not have been acting with the discretion of President Yar'Adua.
Chairman, of the House Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Bala Ibn Na'Allah, warned that if the trend of heads of ministries or public servants disrespecting the legislature continued, the experiment with democracy should be considered a failure.
"If you recall, when this House took the decision that the minister of finance should appear before some committees, he turned down the invitation, but from my own little understanding of legislative business, it is the legislature that has the powers over appropriations. My understanding of the new president is that he intends to work in harmony with the National Assembly, but it is possible somebody somewhere is working against that plan."
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