The two chambers of the National Assembly Thursday reneged on their promise to lay the 2016 budget preparatory to its consideration and passage on Tuesday.
It became clear that the budget might not be laid as promised when it was not listed in the Order Paper of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, had told reporters that the budget would be laid Thursday.
That was not to be as no mention of the Appropriation Bill was made during Senate plenary Thursday.
At a joint press briefing by the two chambers, the lawmakers claimed that the need to “sit down and check what we call data cleansing and integration” made them to back down on the promise to lay the fiscal document.
Abdullahi who was the first to speak at the briefing also said that the two Appropriation Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives “must integrate, harmonise and consolidate” the budget before it could be laid.
He described the budget as “something very technical and tedious and if you recall, this is a very voluminous document.”
The National Assembly, he said, does not “want to rush just because we want to keep to a promise that Wednesday the budget must be passed.”
He said that what the National Assembly owe Nigerians is a budget that is implementable, a budget that will kick-start the reflection of our national economy; a budget that will help to create jobs and therefore stimulate our economic rebirth.
He added that “for those of you who know statistics, in everything you do, you must give freedom for degree of error.”
Abdullahi said that the entire process of laying and passing the budget would be completed next week, “God willing.”
Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, blamed the failure to lay the budget as promised no the need to pass a budget that will be “applauded by the entire country than to rush and make some few mistakes.”
Namdas who pleaded the understanding of Nigerians added that as the first Appropriation Bill of the 8th National Assembly, “we cannot afford to make any mistake.
Abdullahi said, “You will recall we promised we promised Nigerians that by today 17th March, we will pass the 2016 appropriation. Thursday, I also confirmed to you that today, that same appropriation bill will be laid, bearing any last minute technical hitches or otherwise.
“We are here to let you know that as of today, we are unable to lay the 2016 appropriation bill and thus we are hoping next week that process will be completed.
“When I briefed you, I recalled you were asking if the passage will be completed by next week. And we said ‘yes’ when you lay the budget the next thing is for you to discuss the budget and get it passed. The two activities will be carried out next week God’s willing.
“Let me pre-empt you because I know you will be saying perhaps we have failed to keep to our promise. As far as we are concerned, we have not failed.
“What is happening is the seriousness with which we take the 2016 appropriation. It’s such that we cannot also afford to make errors that will become very costly to this nation.
“We have finished all necessary work within the context of the various committees. But remember when you do the paper work, you have to also get people who will sit down and check what we call data cleansing and integration; that is the two Appropriation Committees must integrate.
“That is the essence of what you call harmonisation. This is something very technical and tedious and if you recall, this is a very voluminous document. So, in our own understanding, we don’t want to rush just because we want to keep to a promise that today that budget must be passed.
“What we owe to Nigerians is a budget that is implementable; a budget that will kick-start the reflection of our national economy.
“It’s a budget that will help to create jobs and therefore stimulate our economic rebirth. So, that is what we have seen as a key objective and I want to assure you that for those of you who know statistics, in everything you do, you must give freedom for degree of error.
“And plus or minus five is the basic standard that I’m aware of. Within this context, if next week, we will be able to take this, then within that margin of error, the National Assembly is still on course.
“We call on Nigerians to understand that we are as eager as you to get this budget out but at the same time, we owe you a duty to ensure that the budget that will be out is one that is implementable.
“I think those handling this assignment are having sleepless night just to ensure that we do a thorough job.”
Asked to confirm whether the reported errors in the budget are partly responsible for not laying the budget Thursday, Abdullahi said
“I never alluded to the fact that there was such errors that you are referring to. What we said is data integration and consolidation, which means at the end of the day, the Appropriation Bill has to come in the same form to be laid in the two chambers.”
He added, “The House of Representatives worked as an independent chamber, the Senate worked as an independent chamber. We came back again at that level of the Appropriation Committee to harmonise.
“What we have tried to do is to work together all along. But at the last end of the work, that harmonisation must be done very thoroughly. So, this is not a simple job because they have certain things that they believe should be done.
“We have certain things here that should be done and we must meet and agree on one position. That is the essence of this exercise.
“Having done that on paper, those who will go on to the computer and do the punching, we must give them time. That is where the errors can come in. And we don’t want to come back here and start telling you that there is a printer’s devil.
“Let me also reiterate that as official spokesmen of the two chambers, we are not here to corroborate rumours, neither are we here to lend credence to rumours.
“Those who have their facts know where they got their facts. And I think it is in their own right that you go to them to make explanations.
“Based on all the work that has been done, I don’t think I have an official copy (of the budget) because that work is still to be completed.
So, you wait. When we lay our budget that document that is laid, when you have any issue with it you relate to us and then we shall answer the questions. But for now, please go to the source. “
On whether his use of the words ‘God willing’ and ‘hopefully’ meant that he is not sure if the budget will be laid and passed next week.
He said, “I’m a Muslim and in everything I do, I don’t think if I say God willing there is anything wrong with that.
And if I say ‘hopefully’ remember if I am the one to give it to you and it’s in my pocket, then I am talking with that guarantee.
“This is work process; we are working as a team. So, in a team work, you must hope. We are saying that we are hoping, we have absolute confidence in the capacity and willingness of those people doing this work to do their work.
“And they are there doing their work. What is important for us to understand is: there is nothing wrong in setting a target. The essence of setting a target is for you to have something in which you will be working and hoping to achieve. And so, you keep your work rate along that line.
“These people working are human beings, they have families. If you ask somebody to do a work, he is supposed to finish it in two hours and something crops us that will not allow him to finish it in another 30 minutes, is there anything wrong with that?
“Let’s look at it from this perspective: the budget is a very serious matter. And I don’t think we are here to joke. We are here to make sure we have a budget that is implementable.
“And by saying a budget that is implementable, it does not allude to the fact that the budget brought to us is battered.
“What is important is that as legislators, we have a responsibility to appropriate for this country because we are representing different constituencies. And so, everybody must come with the lenses of the problem from the constituency in which he’s representing.”
“So, what we are saying is that the legislature has received a document from the Executive. It has become the property of the legislature. And we are working on it.
“At the end of the day, when we finish and hand it over to them, that is when you can decide whether we have done a thorough job or not.
“We are not a rubber stamp. And so, the document coming from the Executive must go through proper scrutiny. And we are praying and hoping that by next week, we will be able to complete it.”
