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Tag: national assembly

  • Passage of 2016 budget now Thursday

    Passage of 2016 budget now Thursday

    The 2016 budget will not be passed Thursday as promised by the National Assembly, it was learnt Wednesday.

    Rather, the fiscal document will be laid on the floors of the Senate and the House of Representatives by the Appropriation Committees of the two chambers.

    The Appropriation Committee of the two chambers had at a media briefing promised that the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015 would be passed Thursday.

    The new date of March 17 came after efforts to pass the budget on February 25, 2016 failed.

    Following the promise, a copy of the 2016 budget would have been laid Wednesday preparatory for its consideration and passage Thursday.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, however told reporters in Abuja that the 2016 budget will be laid today.

    Abdullahi who is also a member of the Appropriation Committee, noted that after laying the budget, what would remain would be merely administrative work.

    Anxiety mounted Wednesday following the failure of the Appropriation Committee to lay the budget as promised before Senate adjourned.

    There was also no mention of the budget during Senate plenary.

    Abdullahi said, “God willing we are laying the budget Thursday. I can assure Nigerians that the budget will be laid Thursday. That tells you that a lot of work has been completed on the budget.

    Abdullahi noted that Nigerians are aware of “the back and front of the budget” saying that by scheduling March 17 to pass the budget, they merely set target for themselves.

    He added that members of the National Assembly have taken their time to work on the document because they wanted implementable budget.

    Abdullahi said, “All is almost set for the laying of the 2016 budget tomorrow (today) in the senate chamber as we have promised Nigerians and with that,  one or two processes that are required will take place and we will have our budget as promised.

    “This has put to rest any suspicion of what is happening. I am here to inform you that tomorrow 17th, God sparing our lives; the 2016 budget would be laid by the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee.

    “We are laying the budget tomorrow; that means that every little work that needed to be done with respect to getting that budget as an appropriation has been done. Literally passing the budget tomorrow means that beyond laying it we will discuss it, by taking it clause by clause and give it the loud voice that would proclaim its passage.

    “When a target is set, it is to allow you to work very hard to achieve the target. By virtue of the fact that the budget would be laid tomorrow, it shows that we had worked so hard to get to that point.

    “The rest after laying the budget is merely administrative. As far as we are concerned, in line with the legislative procedure, by laying the budgettomorrow, it is as good as we have passed the budget.

    “What remains is for us to go through one or two things as a procedure. We have done very well by ensuring that the budget would be laidtomorrow. There are lots of back and fore with respect to the budget.

    “We are not unmindful about the date set for the passage, but we want to give Nigerians a budget that is acceptable, implementable, and that will actually drive the key policies of this government with respect to the change agenda.

    “For the budget to be laid tomorrow, that means that there is concurrence; all members of the appropriation committee are satisfied, everybody that has a responsibility.

    “Every member of the committee has appended his signature on the budget and by tomorrow when the budget is laid, Nigerians will know that we have done well.”

    Also alluding to the fact that the budget will no longer be passed today scheduled, Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume informed that the budget would be passed on Tuesday March 22, 2016.

    Ndume also said that a clean copy of the budget would be transmitted to President Buhari on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

    It is expected that after laying it, Senators would be given copies of the fiscal document to read in detail before its possible passage on March 22, 2016.

     

  • ’National Assembly budget to be made public’

    ’National Assembly budget to be made public’

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has reiterated the commitment of the Senate to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to fight corruption.

    Saraki insisted that “under my watch, the Senate will never cover corruption except if the information didn’t come to us”.

    A statement by the Special Assistant to Senate President on Public Affairs, Muhammed Isa, said that Saraki stated this while speaking with a team of editors of the London-based The Economist  at the weekend.

    It said  Saraki reiterated that the Senate is ever ready to partner with President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the success of the anti-corruption war.

    The Senate, he said, had already demonstrated such commitment through its interventions on many alleged corrupt transactions, such as its swift investigation and adoption of a report on the management of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) that saved the nation about N7billion and the exposure of the inconsistencies in the 2016 budget.

    The step, he said, was a departure from the past where such reports were either watered-down or not presented for debate and adoption.

    The Senate President said Nigerians would in the next few weeks be availed with the details of the National Assembly budget.

    He said: “For the first time we promised Nigerians to give out  our budget breakdown. The committee will make its report available by next week. We are resolved to break the tradition of one line item.”

  • ‘National Assembly has powers to legislate for Kogi’

    ‘National Assembly has powers to legislate for Kogi’

    A member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed, in this interview with ADEKUNLE JIMOH, says the National Assembly has the constitutional right to take over the functions of the Kogi State House of Assembly, pending the resolution of the crisis.

    How is the House of Representatives handling the crisis over the crude oil swap?

    In the month of January, this year a colleague of ours brought up a motion on the alleged misconduct in the handling of the crude oil swap. At some point, Nigeria had issues with the provision of fuel for its citizenry and became cash-trapped. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), according to the narrative we got, was owing marketers and it must provide premium motor spirit (PMS) and other related products for the usage of Nigerians. That was when the swap arrangement came. The crude oil swap is like trade by barter arrangement. We have crude and give it to marketers; they take it outside Nigeria and return it as a refined product.

    Worldwide, it is not a misnormer. Countries do it when there are issues. The other alternative is what they call crude in exchange of refined products. At any rate they adopted the oil swap and there was a lot of anomalies. One of the companies called Duke Oil, a subsidiary of NNPC got the contract to do swap and it used to collect 445,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The company believed that it did not have the technical capacity to handle such a transaction and it decided to involve some other marketers. At some point, it was going on very well. Between 2012 and 2014, the agreement expired; and when the agreement expired, the sane thing to do it to renew it. We discovered that, between that period, the crude of Nigeria was taken away without a valid agreement. Even though they said that they had written to the then petroleum minister for the approval of either president or federal executive council, but unilaterally, she approved an extension.

    For now, we have interrogated former GMDs, the former petroleum minister, former PPMC’s heads, former MDs of Duke Oil, oil marketers and the only people we have yet to take on are customs, ports authorities and Prince Haruna Mommoh, who was in charge of PPMC between the time Dizeani Alison-Madueke was the petroleum minister.

    We are expecting them, at least, we have dispatched letters to them. With that, we will be winding down so that we can compile our report. The committee has set out that it will not witch-hunt anybody, but where we find out that there are infractions, we will definitely make sure that we recommend appropriately. So far so go we have been getting on well. We have seen the reactions of Nigerians on what we will do with that. The assurances I have for them is that we have a mandate by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to investigate and expose corruption.

    For the purposes of investigation, the dramatis personae must make themselves available for us to interact with them to know the rationale behind certain decisions they took while in office.  As we saw so far the crude oil agreement was skewed more in favour of the marketers as against Nigerians. Any how we will not say anything that is judgmental now.

    Why the shortfall in the allocation to the education sector in the 2016 budget?

    There are certain sub-heads such as the Unity Schools that the meal subsidy was slashed down. We have 104 Unity Schools and of the number, we have a population of 19,000 students. The meal subsidy’s proposal should be N450 daily- that means N150 per meal amounting to over N11 billion but it was reduced to about eight billion Naira. The implication is that their food might be reduced to about N80 per meal. How much will N80 do with what we have today? We at the level on the committee on basic education in the House of Representatives have approached the appropriation committee to make provisions for that shortfall.

    Why these misconceptions about the budget?

    I think some people are not doing their jobs very well. I cannot explain for them as I am not a member of the executive. But the story we heard is that civil servants were already working on the budget before ministers were appointed. When the ministers came in they brought some version and consultants engaged at some levels.

    The President has started taking steps to ensure that he goes into the crux of the matter. Budget is not a day’s job. It is there you will know whether certain heads are implementable or not. Padding is a relative term. For us in the parliament if a budget is brought to us we should be able to detect all these infractions. If it were the case of garbage in garbage out we wouldn’t have detected that. We want to bequeath an implementable document to Nigerians beyond our long grammar. Because a lot of things are calling for attention; the roads are in very terrible state; power supply shaky; education sector is in shambles. We definitely must make hay while the sun shines.

    Our case in Nigeria is like a patient in the emergency ward. He needs all the consultants available to revive him.

    What gave the NASS the effrontery to expose this anomaly in the budget based on the fact that the ruling party also has the majority in the assembly?

    Our parties are vehicles for us to get to the National Assembly. When you get into the National Assembly your people are more paramount than the parties and there is a country called Nigeria. For us we believe that we are a separate arm of government. When we see things that are not right we point them out, because keeping quiet would be a conspiracy of silence that would not help anybody. For instance, I don’t think the president will be happy if he eventually knows that certain things have taken place and we allowed them to go without raising eyebrows. It is not an effrontery we are just doing our jobs. NASS has three responsibilities of representation, over sight and the budget and of course the budget is our core responsibility. If we fail to do that we will be failing in one of our responsibilities. I can tell that the NASS is a very liberalized body. Unlike what people think, we have people who had paid their dues in their different endeavours before going to the National Assembly.

    Recalling each time there is interruption of the democratic setting it is the legislature that is the whipping boy. The judiciary will be there; the powers of the executive and the legislature would be fused together by the military heads. The only representation that you have is the legislature. In the executive the people only elect the president and vice president, others are appointees, who owe no allegiance to the people.

    What is the position of the House of Representatives on the Kogi State House of Assembly crisis?

    Kogi Assembly is a-25 member House. Five members have gone to revalidate their terms as they have issues in the court. So we have 20 members; five members sat and said they have sacked the speaker. Fifteen others are in the same place. I don’t want to dwell on technicalities. I am a member of the committee of the House of Assembly that went to Kogi State recently. We met with the Governor, Commissioner of police, director of DSS and the 15 members, but of course the other five refused to meet with us.

    But, the Nigerian Constitution is very clear, Section 11 (4) says when a state House of Assembly cannot sit for whatsoever reasons, the House of Representatives is empowered to take over the responsibilities pending the time the house can sit and make laws. Kogi state House of Assembly has not sat for three or four weeks and it is very obvious from our interaction that they are not ready to sit. And we cannot keep governance static.

    I heard some people went to court. I think some lawyers too, I sorry to say, don’t understand the provisions of the Constitutions. I watched one of their lawyers on television and I am totally disappointed. The lawyer even went further to say they stop the House of Reps from exercising their constitutional responsibility. I see that as a huge joke.

    One thing that is clear without any iota of ambiguity is that the NASS has the powers to take over the functions of the state house of assembly. We did that in the seventh assembly by taking over the Rivers state House of Assembly when a similar scenario happened.

    I appeal to elected representatives to be accountable to our people. Like I told them that we should leave the election mood and face governance. The fact that APC has not issued a statement should not be mistaken that the party is not ready for governance. May be the party wants the forces to play themselves our naturally. We are running fiscal federalism and Kogi state is an integral part of the country.

    What is your reaction to the alleged  question mark on card readers

    What we are going to do is to amend the Electoral Act to include card readers? I think that is what the Supreme Court is saying. They are talking law but you and I know that card reader was able to curb election violence in a greater deal. The Evidence Law we are using in Nigeria till about three years ago was the one of 1930s. Until we amended it in the last Assembly; the law is saying electronic evidences are not admissible in court. But we changed that in the last assembly saying that electronic evidences are admissible.

    Card readers for me, that is where the world is going. It is an issue for academic exercise. I think the judges want it in black and white that for the purposes of elections in Nigeria card readers should be used.

  • National Assembly budget to be published next week – Saraki

    National Assembly budget to be published next week – Saraki

    The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki said on Sunday that the budget breakdown of the National Assembly would be published next week.

    This is contained in a statement signed by Mohammed Isa, Special Assistant on Public Affairs to Saraki and made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    The statement said Saraki made the disclosure while speaking with a team of editors of the London based newspaper- the Economist.

    Saraki, who is the Chairman of the National Assembly, said that publication of the details of the budget was in line with the anti-corruption stance of the 8th National Assembly.

    He pledged that the legislature would not cover any form of corruption.

    Saraki also said that the budget of the Senate which had never been made public before would be published in line with the anti-corruption stance of the Senate.

    “For the first time we promised Nigerians that the Senate will disclose its budget breakdown, the committee will make its report available by next week.

    “We are resolved to break the tradition of one line item,” he said.

    Saraki said that the Senate would partner with President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the success of the anti-corruption war.‎

    He said that the red chamber had already demonstrated its commitment to anti-corruption through its unravelling of transaction fraud such as the management of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

    He said that the investigation the senate conducted on TSA saved the country over N7 billion, stressing that the 8th Senate would not hinder or water down any allegation of corruption.

    On the economy, Saraki said the Senate was doing all within its power to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

    “It is only when the private sector thrives that the issue of unemployment will be addressed and the nation’s GDP will increase.

    “Few days ago, we received a report on the laws that need to be amended in order of priority importance to ease doing business and private sector participation in the stimulation of Nigeria’s economy.

    “We will soon commence the implementation of the recommendations in the report in addition to pushing for the amendment of the Procurement Act to protect our local industries,” he assured.

    He allayed fears that the low prices of oil would have negative impact in the implementation of the 2016 budget, saying, “what we need to do is to block leakages and show more transparency.”

    “Without blocking leakages even if oil was sold at more than 100 dollars per barrel, Nigeria will still continue to witness decline in revenue in-flow,’’ he said.

  • ACLN urges FG to review 2016 Budget

    ACLN urges FG to review 2016 Budget

    The Association for Credible Leadership in Nigeria (ACLN), has shown appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for understanding the current economic situation in the country, which has led to reductions in the 2016 budget.

    The association, in comparing the budgets of recent past years with the 2016 budget, observed some reductions in most sectors in the 2016 budget.

    The ACLN said this in a press release made available to newsmen, noting that the allocation for National Assembly in 2015 budget was N120 billion but reduced to N115 billion in 2016.

    “So too, the allocation for Presidential Amnesty in the 2015 budget was pegged at N63.28 billion but reduced to N43.28 billion.

    “However, like all well meaning Nigerians, we still believe that is not anywhere close to what we need especially with the dire economic situation that we found ourselves in as a country.

    “No doubt that these costs of governance could have been better reduced if a number of things were taken out completely or reduced to minimum.

    “We recall that the President, upon assumption of office, promised to reduce the Aircrafts in the Presidential fleet from about ten or eleven to one.  As far as we know, nothing has been done in that regard and the country spends a lot to run and maintain these airplanes,” the release reads in part.

    According to the Association, of what use is it if Lawmakers must have official accommodations and cars despite having personal ones.

    “Even commissioners have official cars and houses: these we believe are waste of resources. With the present economic situation of the country, all quarters need to sacrifice hence, government officials should cut down the way they spend public funds.

    “We advise that the country deal with corruption and excessive spending among government officials if we want to stabilize our economy and attract meaningful foreign investors.

    “Nigeria needs to learn from a country like Tanzania where the President, John Magufuli is radically ‘changing’ the way things were done among public office holders.

    “The President suspended the Independence Day celebration to save the country 4billion Tanzanian shilling after which the proposed money was converted to addressing the outbreak of cholera that had killed 74 people at the time. He has cancelled foreign travel for most government officials and maintained that when it is compulsory, public office holders must travel by economy and not business class,” it said.

    It noted how one of the lawmakers, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce decried the number of unnecessary luxuries included in the budget that is expected to be funded by borrowing from other countries.

    In the video, the Senator noted that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, gets 30,000 pounds for the uplift of his official residence. Yet the Great Britain does not have one Presidential jet but Nigeria has multiple.

    “Sadly, Nigeria plans to borrow from Britain, which according to the Senator, leaves Nigeria being a debtor, living larger than its creditor,” Murray-Bruce lamented.

    In furtherance, the ACLN said: “Right in the middle of all these, the National Assembly proposed to splash about N4.7billion on at least 400 vehicles for leaders and members of the Senate and House of Representatives, of which the Senate President, Bukola Saraki has received the delivery of two exotic cars at the cost of N329,515,625.

    “A sum that is larger than the allocations for many government schools as seen in the 2016 budget according to an online news media.”

    The group quoted former President Olusegun Obasanjo to have said: “A pool of a few cars for each Chamber will suffice for any Committee Chairman or members for any specific duty. The waste that has gone into cars, furniture, housing renovation in the past was mind-boggling and these were veritable sources of waste and corruption. That was why they were abolished. Bringing them back is inimical to the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.”

    The ACLN therefore pleaded with the Buhari-led administration to further look into the 2016 budget and remove, suspend or drastically reduce the budget.

    “Another insensitive way of spending that we observed in the budget is the N3.8 billion reportedly allocated to State House Clinic. If Mr President is serious about the budget, this insensitivity needs to be addressed.

    “Therefore, the ACLN join Nigerians home and abroad to say that this sum is excessive for a government that is advocating for a reduction in the cost of governance. There is no justification for such a sum, if this is true.

    “We urge the Federal Government to revisit this outrageous sum having in mind that several clinics and Primary Health Centers in the country are either understaffed, lacking equipment or poorly managed and exposing citizens to different health problems.

    “We must also commend Nigerians for standing up to note and query the supposed excesses observed in the budget, even as we urge every Nigerian to exercise patience with the government as we hopefully expect the changes we voted for to materialize. Nigeria is great and can be greater if government can lead the citizens through the right path, even as we trust that citizens’ interest will prevail in the 2016 budget. We believe in the power of the people; We the people,” it stated.

  • Budget: NASS doubts N500b intervention fund implementation

    The National Assembly on Thursday raised serious concern over the implementation of the N500 billion special intervention fund in the 2016 budget.

    This came just as the Presidency asked the lawmakers not to increase the size of the 2016 budget.

    The lawmakers said although the government’s plan to spend N500 billion on vulnerable Nigerians was laudable, its implementation would prove problematic.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje, who raised the issue suggested the suspension of the plan till 2017 fiscal year.

    Goje spoke at a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation with the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun and top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    He noted that the meeting became necessary because the National Assembly has a March 17 deadline to pass the budget.

    He said Udoma, Adeosun and others were invited in order to get their final input before passing the budget.

  • National Assembly made abroad

    Our National Assembly is like Janus, the Roman god that has two faces, facing in opposite directions. How? Of recent, the upper chamber has engaged in a new fad, the rhetoric of promoting made-in-Nigeria goods as their contribution to buoy our sagging national economy. Yet, the same National Assembly, has unabashedly and unlawfully budgeted for over N120 billion this fiscal year for its exclusive use, in clear violation of the provisions of the 1999 constitution. Again, the same made-in-Nigeria promoters, ostensibly in pursuit of a new national culture of prudence, has appropriated humongous car loans to all members; even as they also illegally plan, to buyexotic,foreign-made SUVs, for all members, for their so-called committee work.

    To successfully champion a new made-in-Nigeria culture, members of the 8th National Assembly must first purge themselves of a life style that is completely alien to our local economic reality. They cannot be selling to Nigerians the need to cut their coat according to their clothes by making do with what we produce locally, and at the same time, work to approve a budget deficit of nearly N2 trillion to be funded from borrowed funds; a portion of which will be used to fund their taste for big cars and bloated lifestyle. In case our Janus at the National Assembly do not know, the joke is on them, on their new found fad.

    If, for whatever reason, our legislators however wish to change to become honest, made-in-Nigeria, patriotic-nation-serving, lawmakers, they must first acquiesce to live within the contemplation of the 1999 constitution with respect to their remuneration. Here, I refer to the mandatory order of the Third Schedule, Part 1, Paragraph 32(d), of the constitution, which provides: The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission shall have power to “determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including the President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Legislators and the holders of the offices mentioned in section 84 and 124of this constitution”. Currently, the National Assembly run an opaque welfare state, exclusively for their members.

    To help our country start on the part of sustainable development, the National Assembly owes our country enormous responsibility. Like I did in this column some time ago, for President Muhammadu Buhari, I earnestly recommend to members of the National Assembly, a reading of Lee Kuan Yew: From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965 – 2000. My favourite quote from the book, comes from chapter 15, aptly sub-titled: Conductor of an Orchestra. There at page 199, Lee, wrote: “Running a government is not unlike conducting an orchestra. No prime minister can achieve much without an able team. While he himself need not be a great player, he has to know enough of the principal instruments from the violin to the cello to the French horn and the flute, or he will not know what he can expect from each of them”.

    The National Assembly must come to terms with the fact that running a nation needs synchronization between words and action. They should know that the way and manner they run their affairs is more important than mere sloganeering. They cannot behave like the Biblical Scribes and Pharisees, whom Jesus Christ chastised thus: “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23:4, KJV). For a fair and just society, Lee, on page 212, also admonished: “Law and order provide the framework for stability and development. Trained in the law, I had imbibed the principle of equality of all before the law for the functioning of a society”.

    In making unlawful and unconscionable appropriation for themselves, the National Assembly break the law, and in turn undermine the society. As posited by Lord Alfred Denning MR, in Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers: “To every subject in this land, no matter how powerful, I would use Thomas Fuller’s words over 300 years ago: ‘Be you never so high, the law is above you.’” As the Supreme Court of the United States, also held: “If the government becomes a law breaker; it breeds contempt for the law; it invites everyman to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy”. The National Assembly which preaches that Nigerians should patronize made-in-Nigeria goods, while billions of taxpayers’ money are budgeted to fete their appetite for foreign goods and exotic life styles, invites anarchy, not development.

    Instead of spending valuable legislative time pursuing the passage of a frivolous bill on anti-social media practice, the National Assembly, if it is sincere about promoting made-in-Nigeria goods, should concentrate its efforts on making the business environment a lot friendlier. A sincere effort on making laws and providing other legislative support, for the development of a robust infrastructure for the country, should be their priority. Their concern should be, for instance, what the National Assembly can do to increase electricity infrastructure in the country.They can start by conducting a public debate, on the performance of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, of 2005? Have they considered regionalising electricity production and distribution, to supplement the inadequate and burdened national grid?

    On road infrastructure, what national legislative model are they working on, considering the paucity of funds and the national emergency in that sector? They should brainstorm on how legislation can be used to attract international funding, to develop major superhighways to link the six regions of the country. Are members of our National Assembly not aware that if there are efficient and fair legislations in place, for a profitable public-private-partnership, private capital will be attracted to begin to develop the needed infrastructure for the production of made-in-Nigeria goods? With the present road infrastructure, can made-in-Nigeria goods, truly compete with cheap imports from Asia?

    To honestly promote made-in-Nigeria goods, shouldn’t the National Assembly show more interest in our railways? If they are sincere, they can use legislation to help the executive find the needed capital to modernise our rail lines. Has the National Assembly thought of the need to encourage the states and regional clusters, through legislation, to consider developing intra-state and inter-state rail lines? With the inland waterways under the control of the federal government, can’t the National Assembly use legislation to enforce the dredging of Rivers Niger and Benue to make movement of people and goods more affordable?

    With the national economy in dire straits, our country could do with substantial direct foreign investment, to achieve a quantum leap, in infrastructural development. For that to happen, the federal and state legislatures have to first put their houses in order. As stated by Lee Kuan Yew, in his book: “The government played a key role in attracting foreign investment; we built the infrastructure and provided well-planned industrial estates, equity participation in industries, fiscal incentives, and export promotion. Most important, we established good labour relations and sound macroeconomic policies, the fundamentals that enable private enterprise to operate successfully”.

    Sloganeering, by our National Assembly on the need to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods, without backing it up with appropriate legislation and leadership by example, is nothing, but institutional deceit. The National Assembly should truly enhance national productivity, using legislation.

  • Buhari vows to punish distorters of 2016 Budget

    Buhari vows to punish distorters of 2016 Budget

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday night vowed to severely punish all those involved in the “padding” of the 2016 National Budget.

    He made the remark while addressing the Nigerian Community in Saudi Arabia.

    President Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, condemned the distortion of the budget proposals by entrenched interests.

    According to him, the unauthorised alterations had completely changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly.

    He said: “The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military Head of State and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund.

    “Never had I heard the words “budget padding”. Our Minister of Budget and National Planning did a great job with his team. The Minister became almost half his size during the time, working night and day to get the budget ready, only for some people to pad it.

    “What he gave us was not what was finally being debated. It is very embarrassing and disappointing. We will not allow those who did it to go unpunished,” President Buhari vowed.

    The President also assured members of the Nigerian community that his administration was working diligently to fulfill its campaign promises, particularly on security, unemployment, and corruption.

    He reaffirmed his government’s zero tolerance for corruption, stressing that the war against corruption was a monumental task that he is determined to tackle successfully.

    “We have zero tolerance for corruption and other unethical practices. We will deal decisively with anybody found wanting,” he promised members of the Nigerian community.

    President Buhari also used the opportunity of the gathering to brief Nigerians in Saudi Arabia on his administration’s efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria.

    “Our armed forces have done a great job of dealing decisively with Boko Haram. We are collaborating with our neighbors in the operations of the Multinational Joint Task Force to handle security threats in the sub-region and we have significantly destroyed the capacity of the insurgents,” the President said.

    He also spoke on efforts being made to diversify the Nigerian economy, stressing that more opportunities are now open for local and foreign investors in the country.

  • Protesters ask Saraki to quit

    Protesters ask Saraki to quit

    • Call for Saraki’s suspension

    It was anti-climax yesterday in the Senate. The speculated plot by some Senators to engender the suspension of Senator Kabiru Marafa failed to materialise.

    The Senate resolved to refer Marafa, who represents Zamfara Central Senatorial District to its Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions over alleged uncomplimentary comments against the institution of the Senate.

    Instead of the reported suspension, protesters took over the gate of the National Assembly. They demanded the resignation of Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Although, Chairman of the Ethics and Privileges Committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu submitted the committee’s report on alleged Marafa’s misdemeanor, the report was not considered.

    Some Senators claimed that the report was not considered “for some obvious reasons” without saying exactly what amounted to “obvious reasons.’

    The title of the report of the investigation of Marafa, which was the eight to be received by the Senate yesterday simply read: “That the Senate do receive the report of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions in respect of the complaint from Senator Isah Misau and two others against Senator Kabiru Marafa over a publication on February 7th 2016 and for allegedly misleading the public against the Senate and the National Assembly.”

    Immediately Anyanwu laid the report as required by the Senate rules, there was heightened tension especially in the Senate gallery that the report would be considered to pave the way for the suspension of the Zamfara lawmaker.

    That was not to be as the Senate considered a few other reports and apparently kept the investigative report on Marafa in view.

    When the committee met on Monday, Marafa was absent forcing members of the committee to go into a closed session to take a position.

    Also, the prime mover of the motion that led the Senate to resolve to investigate Marafa, Senator Isah Hamma Misau was absent.

    Senator Mathew Urhoghide, who seconded the motion appeared before the committee to defend the motion.

    It was not clear when the report would be considered but some insiders noted that considering the high wired politics associated with the issues raised by Marafa in the alleged offensive interview, the Senate might take its time before considering the report.

    It is also not clear what the Senator Anyanwu Ethics and Privileges Committee recommended to the Senate.

    A source said that the committee might have taken exception to Marafa’s absence at the investigative hearing on Monday to ask the Senate to reprimand him.

    Another source noted that “Marafa is likely to escape severe punishment especially when only four members of the committee out of a total of 11 members attended the investigative hearing on Monday.”

    Yet another source said that the controversial report might be considered today “due to its urgency and need to reassure Nigerians that Saraki is still in charge of the Senate.”

    The group of protesters under the aegis of Open Society Coalition and Good Governance Initiative, demanded for the immediate resignation of Saraki “in order for him to focus on his trial at the CCT.”

    The group displayed banners with various inscriptions such as: “Suspend Saraki, not Marafa”; “Stop suspending members, leave the Senate and face CCT”; “Democracy survives in inclusiveness, not in suspending people of different opinion”;  and “National Assembly, centre of Democracy not Fascist centre.”

    Coordinator of the group, Mr. Emeka Ude, told reporters that the planned suspension of Marafa was undemocratic.

    He said that the suspension of Marafa would dent the image of the Senate and portray the upper chamber as an institution that is opposed to free speech.

    Ude said, “Democracy thrives where there is fairness, rule of law, freedom of expression among others.

    “In a situation where the legislature is foreclosing the democtatic space, that is an invitation to Fascism”

    He noted that Saraki should encourage others with contrary views instead of trying to suppress them through threat of suspension.

    Asked why they were clamouring for the resignation of the Senate President, Ude said Saraki was standing criminal trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

    He also faulted the referral of the alleged Marafa derogatory comments to the Senate Ethics Committee saying it showed Saraki had made up his mind to punish Marafa.

    END