PRESIDENCY DRAGS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO SUPREME COURT OVER BUDGET PADDING | Mr Olumide's Blog
A report by Thisday indicates that the presidency has resolved to approach the Supreme Court for interpretation of Section 80 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the report, the presidency’s move is due to the unending disagreement with the legislature over the extent of its power of appropriation.
The section of the constitution in contention, grants the National Assembly the power to approve appropriated public funds.
The presidency has resolved to approach the Supreme Court for interpretation of Section 80 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to sources quoted in the report, the Muhammadu Buhari administration is determined to end the perennial disagreement which has become a yearly incident.
The executive will seek to determine the extent of the power of the legislature to appropriate public funds and would compel the apex court to determine whether the National Assembly has the latitude to revise estimates proposed by the executive arm of government or not.
Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, there has been a dispute over the legislature’s insistence that it has the power to vary budget estimates presented to it by the executive for approval, referring specifically to Section 80(2) and (3) of the Constitution.
Section 80(2) provides: “No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by the Constitution or where the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Appropriation Act, Supplementary Appropriation Act or an Act passed in compliance with Section 81 of this Constitution.”
Section 80(3) also provides: “No moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund of the Federation other than the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation unless the issue of these moneys has been authorised by an Act of the National Assembly.”
Section 81 to which Section 80(2) refers, provides: “The President shall cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year.”
The executive, while admitting that the power of approval of estimates lies with the legislature, however contends that the National Assemby’s authority does not include extensive adjustment of the estimates to the extent that the budget is rewritten by the National Assembly.
But the legislators insists that they have the constitutional power to vary and determine the figures once prepared and laid before them by the president, adding that the constitution did not intend the legislature to be a rubber stamp.
The conceptual disagreement has delayed the promulgation of the budget each year since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democratic rule.
Both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua had major disagreements with the National Assemby on the issue during their time in power.
Buhari refused to sign the 2016 budget last year because the National Assembly had introduced far-reaching adjustments that were not part of the estimates he laid before it. It was returned to the National Assembly.
The president was later prevailed upon to sign the budget after an agreement was reached that the National Assembly would pass a supplementary budget that would restore 80 per cent of the original estimates.
The 2017 budget is also going through the same route.
More than two weeks after its transmission, the presidency was still vetting the budget, raising speculations that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo would withhold assent.
“There is no way the acting president can sign the budget because it has been terribly distorted.
“The budget was aligned with our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and we found that allocations to critical projects that would help us recover from recession and lead us to growth had been cut, making it difficult for us to achieve our objective,” a source said.
He said by cutting allocations to those projects, the National Assembly had distorted the objective of the budget, which was to complete all ongoing projects by the end of this year before starting new ones next year.
He also referred to massive cuts to the recurrent expenditure of some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), saying the action would make it impossible for them to meet their obligations to their staff.
Meanwhile, negotiations are said to be ongoing between the executive and legislature to resolve the impasse as at press time.
Source: Abuja reporters
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