2017 budget implementation not yet satisfactory—Senate
Says NASS‘ll pass implementable budget

By Henry Umoru, Levinus Nwabughiogu & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA— PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, wrote to the Senate asking for a slot to address the joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, for the presentation of 2018 Appropriation Bill.

But in the House of Representatives, lawmakers expressed their indignation about the President addressing a joint session of the National Assembly, with shouts of no! no!

A copy of the letter, entitled, “Laying of the 2018 Budget Proposal Before the National Assembly,” addressed to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, read in part: “Pursuant to Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution, may I crave the indulgence of the National Assembly to grant me the slot of 1400 hours on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 to formally address the joint session of and lay before the National Assembly the 2018 budget proposal.”

Ahead of the presentation of the 2018 Appropriation Bill, President Buhari had last month forwarded the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP to the lawmakers.

President Buhari had in the MTEF document to both chambers, disclosed that the executive was proposing an oil benchmark of $45 per barrel for the 2018 budget, a production target of 2.3 million barrels per day, mbpd, and an exchange rate of $305 to the dollar.

Reps protest poor implementation of 2017 budget

In the House of Representatives, where the letter was read by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, shouts of “no, no” filled the legislative chamber.

Hardly had Dogara finished reading the letter from the President than the lawmakers spontaneously went loud in their voices.

It was learned that the action of the lawmakers was informed by the fact that they were not happy about the poor implementation of the 2017 budget.

But when the uproar, which endured for some 60 seconds, fizzled out, the speaker reminded the parliamentarians that they had no legal right to stop the President from addressing the joint session of the House and the Senate.

He said: “I wish we have the constitutional right to say no. But unfortunately, we don’t have it. This House is the custodian of the constitution. The President has the right.’’

This is arguably the first time President Buhari would be presenting the national budget proposal before the National Assembly in the month of November since his assumption of office in 2015.

The month of December had always witnessed the annual ritual prior to now.

2017 budget implementation not yet satisfactory —Senate Leader

Meanwhile, Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said yesterday that the National Assembly was not satisfied with the level of implementation of the 2017 budget by the executive.

He was, however, optimistic that before the end of the year’s budget circle, much would have been achieved on the implementation of the budget.

The Senate Leader, who stated this in an interview with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also said the National Assembly was working towards ensuring that any budget from the executive would be implementable and fair to all parts of the country in terms of projects allocation.

Lawan, who visited the President alongside Senate Majority Whip, Prof. Olusola Adeleye, said their visit was private.

He said: “This is a private visit to the villa. It is not an official visit. Therefore, I will choose to keep the reasons private but you know as principal officers of the National Assembly, this is our administration and this villa is also ours.”

“So as APC (All Progressives Congress) leaders, we are free to come here to interact with the people holding forth here, the President,Chief of Staff and others working for this administration.”

Fielding question on whether the implantation of 2017 was satisfactory, Lawan said,   “We are still working to ensure that implementation of the 2017 budget continues. So far, it hasn’t been able to be implemented the way we thought it would. You remember that there are certain things that you don’t just get them to happen at once, some processes must take place before you finally have projects kicking off.

“So, I believe between now and when the 2017 budget circle will be completed much would have been done and achieved.”

Commenting on the government target to reset the budget circle from January to December and whether the National Assembly will pass the budget by December 31, he said circumstances would determine that.

“Well it depends on how it goes. You know we are supposed to be working on the same page, working for the same people of Nigeria and we will like to see the National Assembly working in tandem with the executive arm of government.

“You know these things will be determined by what the budget looks like, the estimates presented to us because naturally we always try to do a very thorough job, a very patriotic job to ensure that the budget is implementable, to ensure there is equity there is fairness, justice in the distribution of projects across the country.

“We will like to see that done but we shouldn’t just do that at all costs, we should be looking at the benefits that could accrue from doing that and whether it is possible to just do it at once or maybe reduce the period in two phases or even more.

“The 2017 budget took effect from June this year, if it is possible for us to complete the implementation of the budget in six months from June, so be it but that also requires that we implement the budget properly because these are projects that are supposed to bring development, relief and succour to Nigerians,and if it is not possible we shouldn’t force it on ourselves that we must terminate it.

“Regardless of what happens, we should look at the potential consequences of completing it in December or whether we need to extend it a little bit more into March for example but these are issues that when we engage between ourselves the executive and the legislature we will be able to sort them out for the benefit of Nigerians,’’ he said.