Senate inaugurates Appropriation Committee
BY HENRY UMORU & INALEGWU SHAIBU
ABUJA—SENATE President, David Mark, vowed Monday that delay in the presentation of the 2012 budget to the National Assembly by the executive arm will not make it a rubber stamp to the budget.
Speaking Monday during the inauguration of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Mark, who warned against late submission of budgets, however, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to submit the 2012 budget as soon as possible as that would enable the National Assembly have a quick approval of it, adding that in spite of the delay, the Senate would tinker with the figures until it was fully satisfied with the entire budget.
He stressed that since 1999, the complaint had been poor budget implementation and late submission of budget by the executive resulting in a situation where budgets were not passed up to June or July.
Warns against late submission of budget
According to Senator Mark, “one of the problems we have been having in Nigeria since 1999 has been one of poor budget implementation. The second problem has been one of late submission of the budget by the executive. Often times, what has been happening is that we get the budget and we do not approve the budget until June, July, we must guard against this.
“For 2012, we must make sure that the budget is submitted on time, and then we in the National Assembly will have to ensure that it is passed on time. When the budget is delayed and then we approve it in June, when you are approving the budget for the year in the last quarter of the year, I wonder what will happen. This is certainly not right for us.
“The Committee on Appropriation must ensure that we get the budget on time, then we can begin to work on it. As a matter of time, the budget of 2012 ought to have been submitted to us. We cannot in two months consider the budget.”
The Senate President, who noted that the National Assembly had the powers to tinker with the budget to suit the wishes of the people, however, argued that budgets were mere proposals sent to National Assembly by the President and could be adjusted to suit the current demands of the people.
According to him, “there is also this controversy that when the budget comes, we just merely look at it and then it is passed, or whether we can tamper with the budget in order to make an adjustment, the answer is straight forward, the budget that is submitted is a mere proposal.
“You cannot say that the proposal is worth what it says. We have every right to tinker with it, we will adjust, we will amend, we will add, we can subtract. In order words, we can tinker with the budget. It is not about when the document is delivered to us; we just look at it and then return, then there will be no need for that formality at all. The budget is a proposal and it is subject to our approval.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation is Senator Ahmed Maccido, with Senator Sunday Ogbuoji as Vice Chairman. Other members are Senators Odion Ugbesia, Dahiru Kuta; Mudashiru Hussein; Ademola Ayo Adeseun; Nkechi Nwaogu; Ita Solomon Enang; Babayo Garba Gamawa; Mohammed Ali Ndume; Emmanuel Ocheja; Hayatu Gwarzo and Ahmed Rufai Sani.
