Members of the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday flayed President Goodluck Jonathan for calling off his scheduled presentation of the estimates of the 2014 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly.
They faulted the reason adduced by Jonathan, saying his action was capable of delaying early passage of the budget.
The President, who also cancelled the presentation last week, had in a letter to the leadership of the National Assembly, stated that the failure of the Senate and the House to harmonise their differences on the crude oil benchmark for the budget was responsible for his latest action.
The Senate had passed $76.5 per barrel as the benchmark while the House approved $79. Jonathan, in the financial estimates, proposed $74.
His letter reads in part, “Considering the fact that, whereas the distinguished Senate has approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework based on a benchmark of $76.5 per barrel, the honourable House of Representatives has used a benchmark of $79 per barrel. It is infeasible for me to present the budget in the absence of a harmonised position on the MTEF.
“In the circumstance, it has become necessary to defer the presentation of the 2014 Budget to a joint session of the National Assembly until such a time when both respected chambers would have harmonised their positions on the MTEF.
“It is my hope that this will be in the shortest possible time.”
But in the Senate where the letter was read to the members by their President, David Mark, as an announcement, no comment was made on it on the floor. In the House however, a thunderous applause greeted the letter as Tambuwal completed reading it.
“yes, correct”, “correct talk”, “let him not come, “we said so”, “that is right” and “he should stay away” were heard from members, who also clapped and shook hands.
They argued that the reason given by Jonathan was not tenable.
The PUNCH gathered that the mild drama was an expression of “victory” by the lawmakers, who had last week kicked against Jonathan’s visit.
Some of the Senators , including Senators Kabiru Marafa, Mohammed Maccido, Heineken Lopobiri and Kabiru Gaya, argued that the President should have presented the budget estimates since arrangements had been perfected to receive him.
They noted that the harmonisation of the benchmark would have still been sorted out by both chambers of the National Assembly.
For instance, Gaya said, “He (Jonathan) gave a date earlier, so if he was ready, we would have received him without even passing the MTEF.
“The President should have come here today(Tuesday), present his budget and the issue of benchmark can be discussed and agreed upon during further deliberations on the budget.
“I don’t see any reason why the President should not be here to present his budget.
“I believe it is not our fault, the blame should be passed somewhere else.”
On his part, Marafa said the President erred in the first instance by taking it upon himself to peg the oil benchmark because it was purely the function of the Legislature.
He said the fact that Nigeria was operating a bicameral legislature that both chambers must agree on the benchmark before any reasonable debate could be carried out on the budget.
He added, “We have to do away with arm twisting and impunity because this is getting too much from the Executive. Why should they peg the benchmark? You cannot eat your cake and have it. There is separation of powers in the Nigerian constitution.”
It was however gathered by our correspondents that intelligence report received by Jonathan made him have a rethink on the budget presentation.
A source said the President was informed that he might be booed by lawmakers backing the New Peoples Democratic Party and their counterparts in the opposition political parties if he went ahead with the presentation.
A source in Abuja said, “The Presidency was not comfortable with the disquiet in the House. Some members are still not prepared to receive him.
“There are New PDP members and opposition party members, especially in the APC, who have been holding a series of meetings.
“Anything could have happened if he insisted on coming today (Tuesday).
“Some of the lawmakers would have booed or embarrassed him.”
A member of the House, who recalled that Jonathan proposed $74 as the benchmark, said they did not want him to present the financial estimates for next year until issues concerning the 2013 budget were resolved.
The lawmaker, who didn’t want his name in print, said, “If you recall, the President actually proposed $74. It was later that the Senate passed $76.5 with the plan to make the House buy into the idea. We vehemently opposed it.
“ For us, we did not want to receive the President until all the issues in this year’s budget are resolved.
“This was what we were saying last week; why rush to present the budget when contending issues, especially poor capital implementation, have not been resolved.”
The Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, explained why the House would not accept $76.5 as the crude oil benchmark.
He argued that since the MTEF was a three-year rolling plan, the benchmark for the 2014 budget should remain at $79, consistent with the 2013 budget.
He stated, “We must recall that the issue of benchmark perhaps generated the biggest controversy last year and $79 was eventually agreed to by both chambers of the National Assembly.
“The parameters and assumptions for last year’s $79 have not changed with the price of oil maintained at over $100 per barrel.
“For us therefore, to suddenly change the benchmark from $79 to $74 or $76.50 as proposed by the Executive and the Senate respectively seems whimsical at best.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, told journalists that the House would hold Jonathan by his word that benchmark was the reason he did not come to the National Assembly.
He said, “In 2011, estimates were presented when we had not passed the MTEF.
“It also happened last year. The Senate had not passed the MTEF by the time the President presented the budget.
“So, it is not our fault that the President did not present the estimates; maybe there are other reasons which he did not tell us.”
Mohammed claimed that the House would still have received Jonathan, irrespective of the unresolved benchmark dispute.
“What is left for us as a House is to appoint a conference committee to meet with the Senate in a few days’ time to harmonise the differences.”
The House spokesman however denied that the budget crisis was a spill-over of the crisis in the PDP.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Mohammed Maccido, said the two chambers would deliberate on the benchmark this week.
He said, “I believe that at the moment, the issue will be tabled before an ad hoc committee that will sit within the next one week to iron this out.
“If we iron this out this week, Mr President would be able to present the budget by next week. God’s willing we will pass the budget this year. We have the rest of the year to do that.”
The Presidency has however dismissed the insinuation that the fear of the New PDP supporters in the National Assembly and opposition party lawmakers was responsible for the cancellation of the presentation by Jonathan.
It said the development was meant to avoid past experience where acrimonies always occurred while the Appropriation bill was being considered.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati; Special Adviser on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, and Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, gave the explanations in Abuja.
Gulak said nobody was capable of scaring the President away from the National Assembly.
Insisting that there was nothing political in the President’s decision, he said Jonathan was interested in seeing the two chambers of the National Assembly harmonise their positions on the MTEF and the benchmark.
He said, “It is not true that the President was scared away by aggrieved PDP members and opposition party members in the National Assembly.
“The President is not afraid of anybody and secondly, the PDP is one strong united party and as such no one can embarrass the President in the National Assembly.”
Abati on his part said the delay in the presentation of the budget proposal was meant to ensure strong harmony between the Executive and the Legislature.
He said, “Previous acrimonies were blamed on failure of inter-governmental relationship.
“The 2014 Budget has been ready for over a week now, but since the two arms of the National Assembly have yet to harmonise their positions on the crude oil benchmark in the MTEF and the fiscal strategy paper, it is wise for Mr. President to wait until this is done.
“The President will cause the budget to be laid before the National Assembly as soon as the harmonistion is concluded.”
Okupe also said the inability of the Senate and the House to agree on the benchmark would delay the presentation of the budget.
He argued that disparity in the benchmark would undermine the budget if it was presented by the President.
Okupe debunked the insinuations in some quarters that the President boycotted the National Assembly because of “security reasons.”
Investigations by The PUNCH showed that up till Monday, Jonathan was aware that the Senate and the House had not harmonised their differences on the benchmark.
However, he was said to have been encouraged by the Senate to come on Tuesday (yesterday) to present the estimates with the assurance that the two chambers would eventually sort other their differences on the benchmark.
culled from punch
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