As the controversy over the true state of the Nigerian budget raged on Monday, the Nigerian Senate asked Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi to apologise for stirring one of the issues which is budget padding, urging him, to then resign.
Part of the controversy that tended to create a crisis of confidence between the executive and the legislature was the alleged omission of a vote for Lagos-Calabar rail project.
While the Senate and the House of Representatives insisted that the project was not in the budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari last December, a clarification was however made by Senator Gbenga Ashafa, who heads the Senate Committee on Land and transportation, that the item was presented to the committee by Amaechi.
But the Appropriation Committees of the National Assembly appeared not to recognise this backdoor approach by Amaechi and insisted they only recognised the budget submitted by President Buhari, including the amended version sent after errors and paddings were detected in the first budget.
“We hereby demand from Mr Amaechi a publicly tendered apology if he is not able to show evidence that the Lagos-Calabar road project was included in the budget. Otherwise, he should resign forthwith”, said Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs.
“Finally, by the provision of Section 81 (4) (a) and (b) of the Constitution, the President is allowed to sign the budget and kick-start the implementation of the other areas that constitute over 90 pe
rcent of the budget’’.
It said that the president should sign the budget and begin implementation of areas “where there is agreement between both arms, even as we engage ourselves to resolve the contentious areas, if there were any.
“ We therefore maintain that even these contrived discrepancies are not sufficient excuse not to sign the budget into law.
“We therefore urge the President to sign the 2016 budget without further delay.
“For every additional day that the president withholds his assent from the bill, the hardship in the land, which is already becoming intolerable for the masses of our people, gets even more complicated.
“Certainly, as primary representatives of the people, we shall not vacate our responsibility and watch the people continue to suffer unduly’’.
The Senate urged the Presidency to tell Nigerians the true state of the 2016 Budget.
Sen. Abdullahi said “the National Assembly had bent backwards to produce a coherent document out of the excessively flawed and chaotic versions of the budget proposal submitted to it.
“While executive is mandated to prepare and lay before the National Assembly a proposed budget detailing projects to be executed, it should be made clear that the responsibility and power of appropriation lies with National Assembly.
“If the presidency expects us to return the budget proposal to them without any adjustments, then some people must be living in a different era and probably have not come to terms with democracy.
“We make bold to say, however, that the said Lagos-Calabar rail project was not included in the budget proposal presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“And, we challenge anyone who has any evidence to the contrary to present such to Nigerians,’’ it said.
According to the senate, the National Assembly has suffered all manners of falsehood, deliberate distortion of facts, and outright blackmail, deliberately aimed at poisoning the minds of the people against the institution of the National Assembly.
“We have endured this with equanimity (calmness) in the overall interest of Nigerians even when the original submission was surreptitiously swapped.
“We ended up having two versions of the budget which was almost incomprehensible and heavily padded in a manner that betrays lack of coordination and gross incompetence.
“We refused to play to the gallery and instead helped the Executive to manage the hugely embarrassing situation it has brought upon itself, but enough is enough.
“This latest antic of this particular Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is reckless, uncalled for and dangerously divisive.
“Apart from setting the people of the southern part of the country against their northern compatriots, it potentially sets the people against their lawmakers from the concerned constituencies and sets the lawmakers against themselves,’’ the senate said.
The statement added that “this manner of reprehensible mischief has no place in a democracy. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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ROTIMI! See how these Camels have used and dump U? U dine with the devil but forgot to use a very LONG SPOON. Sorry bro, U can't eat Ur CAKE and have it back.
ReplyDeleteU have lost the support of Ur people and the COWS Ur called "friends" have disowned U.
May God forgive you for calling people He created cows. May the Lord guide you right.
DeleteSo Amaechi was the main reason for the budget padding?. The law should take its course. Others lost their job because of this padding. If president general Buhari is not corrupt as he is being portrayed, then he should sack Amaechi, the same way he relieved those career men of their duties unless they are some people who are above the law by reasons of the sponsorship of th last general election as it is clearly seen in the war against corruption which he persecuting. #SACKAMAECHI
ReplyDeleteOne of the Saints that took Apc and Baba more than 3 months to assemble. It is unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteThis government is not coordinated and grossly incompetent...what a shame on Buhari
ReplyDeleteIs this the same Amaechi that says " I don't like money" and "I have never collected bribe"?. I dey laugh o!
ReplyDeleteNaija are watching with eyes wide to see Sai Baba & Amechi. This will determined press. BUHARI stand for corruption. Gbam!!!
DeleteThe both of you Elmatosky and anonymous 5:56. Are incredibly stupid with your comment you completely do not understand a simple article. Please get educated.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, my heart bleeds when I read comments by such ones as matosky and the Nwoyes. Well, its a reflection of what 16 years of mental slavery has thrown up. Who to blame? Their case is similar to an okada man turned keke napep rider. In this case, its yahoo! yahoo! scam letter writers to commentators on national issues. What remedy can we proffer? National Prayers, I guess.
DeleteRetards, instead of saying someone is talking nonsense randomly....why don't you lead by example and explain the sense. All u cattle brains do is to add nothing to the economy and end up reducing our GDP per capital with your worthless excess population.
DeleteIf u kall my name again safari,your tongue will run into your stomach...tackle the issue @ hand...if u want to be an ass,find who to tag with,do not kall my name...
DeleteNo need for cursing Mr know it all @ Turakin Nigeria. just be polite and tell them to go through the article Mr educated. lol
DeleteI do not think this is an issue that will warrant such noise. Senator Gbenga Asharu said and I quote him ' the initial budget did not have that item, however, that Amechi presented it to them. The senate committee on transportation engaged him, and he defended it. And that the item was incorporated into the budget which was latter submitted to the appropriation committee. The questions are; 1. Why would the committee on transportation engage Amechi and accepted his defense on this particular item? 2. Even at that, when the appropriation committee saw that floating fund, why would they allocate that fund to another project that belongs to them? Why did they not ask what the fund (over 40 Biliion) was for? They went ahead and appropriated the fund and are looking for someone to blame. This is very good for our democracy at this time. This had been going on in the senate. That was why the Enugu Onitsha express way could not be put to order and to good use.
ReplyDeleteMr image launderer, the money was not floating, Amaechi padded it, the calabar logos rail was not in the original presentation but was only added when the budget was missing and those who did that were sacked by Mr president. The issue here is that those sacked where innocent as they just did the bidding of Amaechi. Why were they used as sacrificial lamb and the main culprit is walking free? IS THIS JUSTICE OR FIGHTING CORRUPTION?
DeleteMy dear, I am not an image launderer and will never be one. I know you are one of those that see Amechi as a sell out. Well that's your business. Now I refer you to the comment made by the Chairman, Senate committee on transportation, Senetor Gbenga Asharu. That is what I referred to and I stand by that. I wonder when people like you will start using their common senses. Please be objective for once.
DeleteWho is talking of selling out here...even if u want to go there,am glad u have seen he has been rejected by his people..so please face the matter @ hand..
DeleteThough Ameachi is fighting a just course but may be in a wrong way. Constructing road or rail to me it's a just course if not that it's coming from a person like Amaechi.
ReplyDeleteAn African proverb says: "Character is like smoke, it cannot be hidden." Amaechi has no hiding place - the truth about his kind of "democracy" is beginning to unfold. Shame on this APC Saint, and by extension, this clueless government!
ReplyDeleteEhnnnnn...I guess it's now clear...but ameachi,if u were sensible,u people should have presented the lagos-calabar rail project in a supplementary budget,it could have been more comprehendable..instead of trying to lie and deceive us...is it not glaring now...yeye man..u sold out your people,and they have dumped you now..u have no political relevance in rivers state anymore..the self acclaimed lion of ubima has been tamed...lol
ReplyDeleteWe are not all cut out to comment on national issues, Nwoye. You will do well to become a spectator. Use your data to download Nigerian home videos.
DeleteThis is a social forum and not a personal medium for attack. This trend between you, Nwoye, Turakin and Matosky should stop. Let everyone respect himself, we are all one irrespective of our back ground. Above all let us pray for them (our leaders)everyday against yielding themselves to be used by the spirit of darkness.
Delete@safari I choose not to be antagonistic , but let the truth be told this government is completely clueless and they deserve any dart thrown at them by Nigerians , we must recognize that Nigerians have been pushed to the wall and this government should expect reactions.Remember for any action there is equal and opposite reaction (newton's third law of motion ).#cluelessPMB
DeleteAnon you spoke well but i believe matosky and Nwoye are the ones not respecting themselves here. How can they call people cows and camels? What for? Totaly uncalled for honestly
DeleteAbba esah,who did I kall a cow...please tell me...
DeleteAbba,I advice u read and also think,before u comment...
DeleteThe distortions
ReplyDeleteAmong the offending discoveries in the budget details, which the President is uncomfortable with are the huge sums of money taken away from key projects and added to constituency projects of the lawmakers, most of which were never discussed or proposed by the executive.
Other infractions noticeable in the budget details are:
* N4 billion removed from Ministry of Health budget and added to Code of Conduct Tribunal
* Cost of 80 illegal roads without designs added to Works budget, 30 of them not Federal
* Money meant for Works, power transmission, diverted by lawmakers for tricycles, town halls, boreholes in their constituencies
* 73 illegal projects added to Education budget – no designs available for the projects, and no tenders conducted
* Lawmakers slashed money for poor students by 50% in Education budget and added same to their states constituencies.
It was gathered that although the N60 billion meant for the Calabar-Lagos rail budget was not in the original budget, the Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, successfully defended and got it included in the amended budget.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who left Abuja for Beijing, China, last night, to press for more financial support for the country, was said to be working on the premise that the NASS would rework the budget to meet his expectation for assent upon his return within the week. Lawmakers, especially those who were schemed out by the leadership in the sharing of the constituency projects are upset by the discovery and are likely to confront the beneficiaries as they resume today for plenary.
Meanwhile, some Senators and members of the House of Representatives were divided, yesterday, over refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Budget. For instance, Senator John Enoh and Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmunin Jibrin, disagreed over the inclusion of the rail project in the budget. While Enoh said it was included and wondered who removed it, Jibrin said the Lagos-Calabar rail project was never included.
What is this copy & paste shit !
DeleteAmeach has not done anything wrong here. Why are people very quick to criticize him, he is fighting a just cause. If the NA really care about the economy, they are supposed to defend him speedily the project is a very very key economic project. I feel for Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteBut wait, why did buhari not even consider Lagos calamari rail project initially? Why did he put Kano own and forgot calabar own? You see the kind of partial president that we have in a democracy? And he will come to make noise about being a saint. Mtscheew!
ReplyDeleteDoes it matter when it was included? No. What matters is that it was included...stop being myopic please. Grow up!
DeleteAbba yea it matters....you cannot just pad a budget,its not done anywhere...
DeleteBihari has antecedent on killing viable economic projects. He destroyed absolute still mill , Lagos metro rail by jakande and he is repeating the same in Lagos - Calabar rail that has great potential to economical integrate the southern Nigeria. We are watching
ReplyDeleteWhat are you watching mr? Isn't it same Buhari that included the rail transport from the SS to the SW? God the way some people talk sef!
Deletewho made you a judge in this mata mr.
DeleteIn as much as I didn't want to comment on dis issue now, did u suspect wat I'm suspecting? NA desperately want president to assent d budget, I think I smell a rat there. Anyways, I'm waiting to hear the Executive side of d story b4 I knw wat to say
ReplyDeleteI will hear from Amaechi side of his own story b4 committing any further.. God bless Nigeria
ReplyDeletePls let try n listen to Amaechi's respond
ReplyDeleteMost of nigerians don't NA d reason y dey fail pass d budget is b'cos dey don't seen enough money to chop d money dat was assign for them isn't okay for dat is y dey want to rubbish buhari budget there allowances had been cut. N dere constituency allowance dat is y dey are angry buhari d money they suppose to use to develop dere constituency will be diverted to dere personal for dere own use.i rest my case
ReplyDelete