The Presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari is still
consulting on the N8.92tn 2019 budget and studying the provisions therein.
It also said Buhari, having received the 2019
Appropriation Bill from the National Assembly, was within the number of days
allowed by the 1999 Constitution to make a decision on whether to sign it or
withhold his assent.
The expectation was that the
President would sign it almost immediately, considering that the budget had
long been delayed.
Findings indicated that the 2018 budget, still being
implemented by the Federal Government, would run out its full cycle on June 20.
However, speaking in an exclusive
interview in Abuja on Monday, Buhari’s National Assembly Liaison
Officer, Senator Ita Enang, said the President would first consult and study
the budget before making a decision.
He said
so long as Buhari was acting
within the constitutional provision of 30 days, he had not erred by not signing
the budget as of Monday.
Enang said, “The constitution
provides that when the President receives any bill from the National Assembly,
there is specific number of days that he uses to consult, study, scrutinise and
make sure that it accords with a decision.
“So, the budget is still going
through standard procedures. A decision will be communicated appropriately
whenever it is reached within the stated number of days.”
Under Section 58 of the
constitution, the President has up to 30 days to make up his mind on a bill
transmitted to him the National Assembly.
Section 58(4-5) states, “Where a
bill is presented to the President for
assent, he shall within 30 days
thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent.
“Where the President withholds
his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority,
the bill shall become a law and the
assent of the President shall not be required.”
Meanwhile, Enang declined to
speak on the invitation by the House of Representatives, asking Buhari to
appear before it over the rising security issues in the country.
The House had first invited the President in
April, but he did not appear.
Last week he was reinvited.
Asked whether Buhari had received
correspondence on the second invitation
and would comply, Enang replied, “I will not comment on that issue.”
The House on April 11, summoned Buhari to appear
“within 48 hours” to address lawmakers on the frequent attacks by herdsmen and other security problems like
banditry and kidnappings in the country.
The resolution followed a motion
moved by the lawmaker representing Gwer-East/Gwer-West Federal Constituency in
Benue State, Mr Terseer Mark-Gbillah.
The resolution, which was
unanimous, stated, “Request that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces to address the House and the entire nation within 48 hours.”
The House added that the
President was to explain “his inability and the inability of his
administration, since its inception, to declare the killer herdsmen as
terrorists, to enable the Armed Forces to take commensurate action against
them”.
They said, “The inability of the armed forces
under his watch to stop the recurring death of scores of innocent Nigerians
annually from systemic attacks by killer herdsmen and alleged bandits, and the
gradual occupation of the affected communities by these herdsmen despite
countless assurances and statements by him, promising to stop these attacks.
“His selective and ineffective
responses to the killing of Nigerians by herdsmen, especially when they occur
in certain parts of the country like Benue State.
“The immediate measures he intends to employ
as the Commander-in-Chief to provide the armed forces, including the police,
with the required resources to confront and dislodge the killer herdsmen from
their known hideouts, establishment of permanent presence in immediate
proximity to the affected communities and provide a timeline within which these
attacks by killer herdsmen and alleged bandits will be curtailed, so Nigerians
can return to their ancestral homes and means of livelihood.”
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