Abdul-Rahman Abubakar and Turaki A. Hassan
18 November 2008
The Federal Government's budget estimates for the 2009 fiscal year are expected to be presented to the National Assembly in Abuja omorrow, but President Umaru Musa Yar'adua may not make a personal appearance to present the budget in line with tradition, Daily Trust gathered yesterday.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North) said while the budget is expected to be sent to the Assembly tomorrow, the president may not personally present it.
Eze said there is no section of the 1999 Constitution that makes it mandatory for the president to physically present the budget before a joint session of the parliament as has been done in the past. "The constitution does not make it compulsory for the President to present the budget in person.
There is no law in this country providing for such and there is no law barring him to present it in person if he wishes to do so. What the constitution provides is that the President should cause the budget to be prepared and to be laid in both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration," he said. In the draft budget, the executive is proposing to spend N2.67 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year.
Section 81 of the 1999 constitution provided the method for presentation of the yearly budget by placing the burden of preparation and presentation to the parliament on the President.
The section reads, "The president shall cause to be prepared and laid before each house of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the following year".
Senator Eze said in a bid to ensure speedy passage of the budget, the legislature has already commenced consultations with various government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to harmonize gray areas in the budget proposals.
"We are ready for the budget. We have already started consultation with the Budget Office, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies and we hope those processes would be speeded up so that we can pass it before the end of this year to enable the executive commence with the implementation by January 2009", Senator Eze said.
The 2008 budget faced many delays in the legislature and was only passed after a quarter of the fiscal year was over.
The executive and the legislature again bickered over proposals by the president to amend the budget, which was finally done with most of the year gone.
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