The House of Representatives on Tuesday overruled moves to stall the 2015 budget by giving a nod to President Goodluck Jonathan to delegate any official of the government to present the estimates to lawmakers.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Iweala, is set to present the estimates to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
But his decision to delegate the minister instead of coming to do the presentation himself led to a protests that could have stalled the budget.
Shortly after the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, read a letter from Jonathan requesting the approval of the House for Okonjo-Iweala to present the estimates on Wednesday, some members raised voices against it.
Leading the protests, House Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the practice over time was for the President himself to present the estimates to a joint session of the National Assembly.
However, he observed that since 2013, Jonathan had formed the habit of delegating the minister to do the presentation on his behalf.
He argued that while his excuse of being out of the country last year during the budget presentation could be overlooked, his decision to delegate it again this year was questionable.
“Why is the minister coming again when the President is very much in the country?
“The way we are going, we don’t want a situation whereby the parliament will be disregarded to a point where a Personal Assistant to Mr. President will present the budget estimates to us one day,” Gbajabiamila added.
The All Progressives Congress legislator from Lagos State had hardly rounded off his points when House Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, opposed him.
Ogor, a Peoples Democratic Party member from Delta State, used the cover of the 1999 Constitution to counter the submission of the APC leader.
He noted that while Section I of the Constitution recognised its “supremacy,” Section 81 specifically mandated the President to “cause” the budget estimates to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly.
“It does not say the President ‘shall’ be the one to present the budget estimates.
“So, it is inconsequential for the minority leader to come under privilege to argue that the minister cannot do the presentation,” Ogor stated.
Ogor’s position was greeted with applause from the floor, an indication that he gave the correct position of the law.
Tambuwal intervened to further give Jonathan backing by making it clear that the President was not under compulsion to make the presentation personally.
According to the speaker, the President can choose not to observe the “parliamentary tradition” of presenting the estimates in person, adding that his choice of presentation should not stall the estimates.
He spoke more, “The provision (of the constitution) does not say it is the President that should present it person.
“Of course, parliamentary tradition expects him to present the estimates, but if he decides to go the other way, we must not be seen to be forcing the President to do so.”
Another APC lawmaker from Kano State, Mr. Ali Madaki, also came up with another point of privilege to argue that the 2015-2017 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework must first be approved before receiving the budget estimates from Jonathan. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com