…as Senate blames executive arm for many errors in appropriation bill
By Haruna Salami
The Senate Thursday failed to pass the 2023 budget as earlier scheduled on the excuse that President Muhammadu Buhari presented an Appropriation bill with many flaws.
The Senate President Ahmad Lawan, in his opening remarks at plenary Thursday said the upper chamber was scheduled to receive the report of its Committee on Appropriations on the 2023 Appropriation Bill.
“However, due to some challenges, we are not able to receive the report of the Committee and the main reason for this is that the Appropriation Bill came to the National Assembly with some problems.
He said when their Committees on Appropriations in the Senate and in the House started to reconcile the figures of what was done and what was presented, “the problems became very obvious and they were not easy to deal with.
“Therefore, our Committees have to start a process of cleaning up the bill first. That process, of course, also engaged the executive arm because the problem came from there. It was concluded only yesterday (Wednesday)and our committee secretariats are not able to finish the budget for us to take today or tomorrow, nor Friday, , Sunday because these are periods that are for festivities (Christians period). Monday, Tuesday are public holidays.
“Consequently, we can only receive the report and consider on Wednesday the 28th December, that is the earliest. So far, this 9th National Assembly has done so much to pass the previous appropriations since 2019 to date before the end of the year. I’m sure this will rema6one of the cherished legacies if the 9th National Assembly.
“By the grace of God on the 28 of this month, the Senate and indeed the House will all come back to receive and consider the budget report from our committees.
“Secondly, our Committee on Finance is this morning holding a public hearing on the Finance Bill 2022 and the Finance Bill is the basis on which the Appropriation 2023 is built. We had arranged yesterday that the Finance Committee will present the report on Finance Bill hearing at 2 pm today. That of course, will not be possible.
“We also received two communication yesterday: Supplementary budget 2022 and Ways and Means. Our Committees on Appropriations, Finance, Water Resources, Agriculture and Works and Housing will be processing the bills from today. In that respect, the Senate will adjourn immediately so that our committees start the action they are supposed to take.
“Therefore, those reports will also be available to us on Wednesday 28 December when we will be here. By the grace of God, Wednesday 28 will be a heavily loaded day for us, but I’m sure we will be able to deal with all the issues that Wednesday and our colleagues who will like to travel back to continue with the festivities with their families can still make it the following day.
He thanked all his distinguished colleagues for their “support, cooperation, commitment, dedication on all these things that we have been doing as a legislature”.
“Let me advise the executive; the bills that have come to us – the Ways and Means, the Supplementary Appropriation, the Finance Bill- whoever is invited to come and explain, give information or any details for the National Assembly to understand must do so because it is not our work alone”.
According to him, the legislators want to do their work “thoroughly” and they want to understand whatever they are going to deal with and “we want our decisions to be based on information. Time is if essence. Just as we are going to sacrifice part of our festive period to be back here. Nobody should tell us that they are in their places because it is Christmas. They should be available with every necessary information”.
On this note, Lawan stood down all items slated on the Order Paper of Thursday and wished his colleagues “Merry Christmas and prosperous, stable and peaceful 2023”.
