Emma Ujah
26 May 2008
Lagos — The Minister of Finance, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman yesterday, reacted to legislators' criticisms against his memo to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the Implementation of the 2008 Budget, saying that he was grossly misunderstood.
Speaking through his Special Assistant (Media and Communications), Mallam Sani Zoro, the minister said, the legislators would have reacted differently if they had sought clarifications on the memo from him.
His words, "the legislators completely misunderstood the import of the circular. Both the executive and the National Assembly are different arms of the same government. Our expectation is that if the document is not clear, they should have asked the minister to explain what he meant."
Dr. Usman, he said, recognised, fully, the fact that there was an Appropriation Act and that he was not only committed to
the full implementation of the 2008 budget but that steps were already being taken to fast track the implementation.
"We appreciate the fact that we have an Appropriation Act. We are committed to the implementation of the budget", he said, adding, already, we have released the second quarter warrant."
According to Mal Zorro, those who were reported to have called for the removal of Dr. Usman did so in bad faith, insisting that the issues involved did not warrant such calls.
He said that the minister"s circular to the MDAs was not motivated by ill-will , but by patriotism and that as such the minister would not join issues with individual legislators who felt that the decision could jeopardise their personal ambitions.
"What we are doing is a patriotic undertaking for which the minister was given a clear mandate. The minister wishes those asking for sanctions against him and we are sure that Nigerians are aware of the selfless and patriotic service of the minister to the nation.
"The minister has a tremendous respect for the National Assembly and its leadership and is aware that in a House of over 300 members, if a person decides to fire missiles at him, those behind it should know that the minister has no missiles to fire back.
"We are focused and will not be distracted. We will continue to hold consultations with the National Assembly through its leadership and the various organs. We are conscious of the fact that we are in the same government, most members in the same party, and above all in the same nation", he said.
The spokesman noted that the minister was one of those who received the highest ovation in recognition of his accomplishment and extra-ordinary competence, adding, "we are always reminded by the various legislators who said, "with Dr. Usman at the treasury Nigeria"s money is absolutely secured", we are living to that expectation".
He explained that the minister would appear before the legislators today to clarify whatever issues they may, adding that the he could not appear earlier because he was away on official trips outside the country on each occasion.
According, to him, "there is no cause for alarm. Members of the executive go to the legislature regularly to answer questions that may arise in the cause of the discharge of their duties.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
