Federal lawmakers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are currently engaged in a hot power show over the deadline for the passage of the 2020 budget, reports ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor
AS federal lawmakers continued to debate the 2020 Appropriation Bill presented to them by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday October 8, 2019, amidst disagreements over the deadline set by the leadership of the National Assembly for the passage of the budget, reliable sources said a brewing face-off between members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Assembly, may hinder the quick passage of the budget.
Buhari had specifically pleaded for an early passage of the bill by the National Assembly. Making a call for the country to return to January-December budget cycle, Buhari sought the co-operation of the federal lawmakers in his quest to rid the country of late budget passage. He said expenditure in the 2019 budget was hindered by delay in the budget defence, adding that capital releases commenced in the third quarter. He urged the National Assembly to stop the unnecessary practice of budget delay to enable the 2020 budget come into effect by 1st January 2020.
“Therefore, I will once again commend the 9thNational Assembly’s firm commitment to stop the unnecessary cycle of delayed annual budgets. I am confident that with our renewed partnership, the deliberations on the 2020 Budget shall be completed before the end of 2019 so that the Appropriation Act will come into effect by the 1st of January,” President Buhari said while laying the 2020 Appropriation Bill before a joint session of both chambers of the National Assembly.
In line with the request of President Buhari, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said there is an urgent need for Nigeria to return to a January-December budget cycle. Lawan, in his opening address at the budget presentation ceremony, urged the ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government to appear before the National Assembly committees to defend their budget proposals as contained in the bill.
The Senate President then promised that the National Assembly would accelerate work on the 2020 Appropriation Bill being presented by the President. Consequently, he said all budget defence sessions would be concluded in October, other legislative processes would be done on the bill in November, while the lawmakers had planned to pass the budget in December.
Committed leadership
“We have set between the two chambers; and we have resolved that this time around, we must pass this budget before the end of December. We are hopeful that the budget will be passed before we go on Christmas break by God’s grace. And of course, I am glad to say that President Buhari had shown commitment to what the National Assembly desires. This was seen when the government issued a statement asking ministers and heads of agencies not to travel without defending their budget; that is total commitment to what we desire in the National Assembly,” Lawan, who is the Chairman of the National Assembly, had said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, had on many occasions, also vowed that the National Assembly will do everything to return the country’s budget to the January to December cycle. Recently, the Speaker said the 1999 Constitution provides that the country’s budget should run from January to December. He added that it is only where there are strong reasons to do so that exceptions are allowed.
While speaking at the opening of a 2-day public hearing on the 2020 budget, organised by the joint Senate and House Committee on Appropriation, Gbajabiamila said having the budget running from another period other than January to December may have “depressing impact on the economy.” “Many people have asked me ‘what’s the big deal about January to December budget cycle? Why are we so pressed on returning the financial year to January to December?
“It’s simple, the constitution says so. A lot of people are not aware of it. It’s stipulated in the constitution that ‘the financial year shall be January to December or any other time as prescribed by the National Assembly.’ “Going by the language of the constitution, it means that what it’s exactly saying is that, yes it has to be January to December, but that at any other time, maybe there’s a reason why you’re unable to. But in the main, what is expected is that it’s January to December.”
Divided membership
But is appears the optimism of the leadership of the National Assembly is not shared by all the members of the two chambers. Findings by The Nation revealed that partisan politics may be taking its toll on the efforts of Lawan and Gbajabiamila to ensure the passage of the 2020 Budget by December. According to a member of the upper chamber from Oyo State while craving anonymity, “the problem stems from the failure of the National Assembly leadership to consult and carry everybody along before making the promise to deliver the budget by December.
“It is not only APC members that will pass the budget. The documents will be scrutinized and declared acceptable by all of us before it can confidently become law. It was out of place for both Lawan and Gbajabiamila to be making statements on when the budget will be passed before such an issue was even discussed in the chambers. There is no way politics will not come into play when an indication that some people do not matter is being given by those who should know better than to commence their leadership of the National Assembly in that manner.”
Another member of the National Assembly from Imo State told The Nation that there are indications that PDP caucuses in the Assembly may have decided to scuttle early passage of the budget to teach their APC counterparts some political lessons. “Those who are accusing some legislators of slowing down the process are ignorant of the workings of the parliament. If we suspect a plot to stampede us into passing a budget that will not be beneficial to the good people of this country, the first thing we will do is to slow down the entire process.
“It will not matter what some people say. What will matter is the eventual outcome of the entire tussle. If they say it is politics, I ask, ‘what are we here to do? The request by the President is politics. The statements credited to Lawan and Gbajabiamila which some members are now faulting is also politics. The resolve of opposition legislators to insist on what they think is right in this case is also politics. Anyway, the budget itself is political,” he argued.
While confirming the brewing face-off over the deadline for the passage of the budget, an APC federal lawmaker from Ogun State pointedly accused the leadership of the opposition party of making moves to scuttle the return of the budget cycle to January-December. “Yes, there is politics playing out over the budget and we know where it is all coming from. The APC caucuses in the National Assembly will leave no stone unturned to beat them in their own game. It is not everything we play partisan politics with.
“Don’t believe any of the excuses being bandied for their unpatriotic actions as far as the 2020 Budget is concerned. What they are simply doing is an attempt to prevent the return of the budget cycle to January-December. And the reason is nothing but politics. They don’t want APC to be credited with the correction of the malady they foisted on Nigeria while they were in power. They are not concerned about the advantages this will bring to the people, they just want to play politics,” our source claimed.
More indications
In a move that further indicated the division in the chambers over the deadline, the leadership of the PDP caucus in the lower chamber during the week said it is determined to see that the ‘details’ of the budget is discussed thoroughly and confirmed to meet the yearnings of Nigerians. Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu (Delta-PDP), in a statement he personally signed and issued to the media yesterday, said that though the House had “resolved to pass the budget before the end of the year, the details, particularly the capital expenditure items and implementation modules must meet the yearning of Nigerians before the budget is passed into law”.
“Given the sorry state of our infrastructure, the opposition must ensure that the votes earmarked by Mr. President for the rehabilitation of roads, power infrastructure, health services, agriculture, water resources, education, among other critical sectors, are thoroughly scrutinized to guarantee full implementation as well as reflect the federal character principle across board. The minority leader has, therefore, directed all opposition members in various committees, to ensure strict compliance with the democratic principles of transparency, accountability and prudence in the budget planning as well as in the implementation oversight of both the capital and recurrent components.”
Elumelu also insisted that budget defence must be in the open so that Nigerians are fully carried along in all the processes leading to budgetary decisions in all critical sectors. “The minority leader has, therefore, directed all opposition members in various committees, to ensure strict compliance with the democratic principles of transparency, accountability and prudence in the budget planning as well as in the implementation oversight of both the capital and recurrent components,” he said.
Following the slow pace of work by some committees, the senate has reviewed its budget consideration timetable to allow more committees conclude work and prepare their reports. A source in the senate said many members of the affected committees are laying the blame for the slow pace of work at the feet of partisan politics. “A good number of these committees have PDP senators as chairmen. Others have also reported suspected efforts by the opposition to slow down the work of some committees,” a source claimed.
Speaking during the week, Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Barau Jibrin, said the committees will now have enough time to go ahead with their budget defence sessions with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). “We are very much on course; the exercise of budget defence with MDAs can actually continue and they will hold throughout next week,” he explained.
It was gathered that a good number of the 68 committees had submitted reports to the Appropriation Committee. “Some of the affected committees are just invitations to MDAs for budget defence meeting this week,” a source revealed. Many of the lawmakers who spoke to The Nation were of the opinion that the extension granted the committees by the leadership of the National Assembly may not be enough to achieve the December deadline if the attitude of some opposition lawmakers to the deadline is not addressed. (The Nation)
