As the House of Representatives Tuesday deferred the presentation of theN4.6 trillion 2014 budget till next week, the budget same day passed through the second reading on the floor of the Senate against all odds.
The Senate has referred the budget to its committees on Finance and Appropriation with a mandate for thorough scrutiny after general debate on it. The committee is expected to report back to the plenary within three weeks after which it will be passed.
Despite the directive by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party’s members in the Senate also concurred that the budget should proceed to the next stage after passing through second reading.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary therefore charged chairmen of the Senate Standing committees to liaise with their counterparts in the House of Representatives to resolve some grey areas to ensure quick passage.
Meanwhile, the situation was different on the floor of the Green Chamber as argument ensued among members on why the budget should not be entertained.
Sequel to constitutional matter raised by Emmanuel Jimeh, APC Benue, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal mandated three committees- the House, Rules and Business, Justice and Judiciary to look into the legality of the issues raised and report back to the House within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the budget may not be presented for deliberation until next week there will not be plenary on Wednesday and Thursday while there is no sitting at all on Friday, technically shifting it till next week.
Emmanuel Jimeh (APC, Benue) had argued that the presentation of the 2014 budget is in breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.
He noted that the details of the estimates of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Ports Authority and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC ) and other revenue generating corporations and agencies of the Federal Government were not attached for scrutiny.
“What accompanied the purported budget was a summary rather than the estimates. For instance, If the estimates of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been submitted with the 2013 budget proposal, the House would have known where the missing $10b is.
“The House should not allow then reached the laws it passed and should not encourage the Executive to continue to engage in breaching the law. This particular budget has breached our law. This parliament must not encourage the President to continue to breach our law. We must not allow ourselves to do the wrong thing for the convenience of the moment. History will not judge the House well for sitting back when the law is breached,” Jimeh said.
However, the House Committee Chairman on Appropriation, John Enoh ( PDP Cross Rivers) countered Jimeh, insisting all necessary provisions were met.
