Politics
Acting President, Osinbajo And EMT At Loggerheads With National Assembly Over 2017 Budget
A fresh row may be in the offing between the Executive and the Legislative arms of government over the 2017 budget.
This is because the Presidency appears not to be in a hurry to assent to the 2017 Appropriation Bill, which the National Assembly passed late last week, Vanguard learned from a top federal official last night.
However, Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and the Presidential Economic Management Team, EMT, have commenced a review of the 2017 budget, even without the details of the Appropriation Bill at their disposal yet. But one of the top officials of the Federal Government expressed fears that the budget had been ‘altered’ in many ways by the lawmakers after spending more than five months deliberating on the document.
With N143bn added to Buhari’s figure, the official questioned where the lawmakers got N143 billion which they added to the original figure submitted to them by the President and the additional N10 billion added to the budget of the National Assembly at a time the government was reeling under hardship.
The official, who did not want his name in print, also questioned why the NASS unilaterally made substantial reductions from capital provisions for some strategic projects spread across the country and moved the money to some unspecified projects that are under the control of states and local governments.
According to the source, “that is why we fear that the distortions in this year’s budget may be more than those noticed in 2016 budget and the government may have to spend some time to study the budget so as not to make any mistake that may put it into crisis with the Nigerian people. Notwithstanding the long period the budget has been with the NASS, the Federal Government will have to take some time to review the budget and see the extent to which it has been altered and determined whether such alterations are significant or marginal and whether we can ignore them and move on or call for a review.”
A scrutiny of the budget passed by the National Assembly reveals that apart from increasing the figure submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari last December, the National Assembly has also moved a lot of money from both capital and recurrent votes to projects that states and local governments should handle under the Concurrent and Residual lists.
Meanwhile, Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, and the Presidential Economic Management Team, EMT, have commenced a review of the 2017 budget, even without the details of the Appropriation Bill at their disposal yet. A critical element of the review, however, was to shore up revenues for the funding of the budget. While the document is yet to reach the Presidential Villa, the Presidency has already started its review. To realize the funding objective, the EMT also set up a committee to work out the modalities.
In a tweet during the regular Monday meeting of the EMT, presided over by the Acting President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, spokesman to Osinbajo, Mr. Laolu Akande, stated that the budget was one of the issues the meeting deliberated upon. “Acting President Osinbajo presiding over economic Management Team reviewing major issues in 2017 budget and others. In attendance are ministers and CBN gov,” Akande tweeted.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting, Akande said while a copy of the budget was being awaited, the EMT had taken proactive measures to ensure optimal performance. “The EMT discussed the funding of the budget so that we can hit the ground running, once we receive the budget formally and sign it. That was what was discussed in relation to the budget, revenues, loans etc. There are basically ongoing discussions. There is a smaller group in the EMT that is responsible for the funding and it is just an ongoing discussion,” Akande said.
The EMT is chaired by the Acting President and has the ministers of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah as members, alongside Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Directors General of the Budget Office, Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.
The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.
In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.
“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.
“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.
“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.
“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”
Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.
Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.
“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.
“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”
The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.
Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.
Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.
The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.
“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.
In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.
“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.
“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.
“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”
Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.
Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.
Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.
“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.
“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.
“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.
“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.
“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”
The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.
Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.
She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others
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