THE Senate has issued a two-week ultimatum to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to ensure submission of the budgets of 31 public establishments, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Nigerian Ports Authority, NNPC, to the National Assembly in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The Senate gave the order, following a motion by the Bala Na’Allah, deputy leader, on Wednesday, May 17, also resolved that the concerned agencies should stop further spending pending compliance.

Many senators, including Ike Ekweremadu, deputy Senate president; Solomon Adeola, APC-Lagos; George Sekibo, PDP-Rivers; Jibrin Barau, APC-Kano; James Manager, PDP-Delta; Barnabas Gemade, APC-Benue, took swipe on the agencies for disregarding the law and spending “trillions”, in sum, without appropriation.

Section 21 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act provides that estimates of revenue and expenditure of 31 public corporations, agencies and government owned companies, listed in the Schedule to the Act, should submit their annual budgets to their supervisory ministers “not later than end of August of each financial year.”

Then, “The Minister shall cause the estimates submitted in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section to be attached as part of the Appropriation Bill to be submitted to the National Assembly,” Section 21(3) of the Act.

The affected bodies listed in the Act are: 1)Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; 2) Nigeria Deposit insurance Corporation; 3) Bureau of Public Enterprise; 4) National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure; 5) Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund; 6) Corporate Affairs Commission; 7) National Clearing and Forwarding Agency 8) Nigerian Unity Line; 9) Nigerian Airspace Management Agency; 10) Nigerian Shippers Council; 11) National Maritime Authority; 12) Raw Material Research and Development Council; 13) Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority; 14) National Sugar Development Council; 15) Nigerian Postal Service; 16) Nigerian Ports Authority; 17) Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria 18) Nigerian Mining Corporation; 19) Nigeria Re-insurance 20) Nigerdock Nigeria PLC; 21) Securities and Exchange Commission; 22) National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria 23) Nigeria Re-insurance Corporation.

Others are: 24) Nigerian Telecommunication; 25) National Automotive Council; 26) Nigerian Tourism Development; 27) National Communication Commission; 28) National Agency for Food & Drug Administration & Control; 29) Nigerian Customs Service; 30) Federal Inland Revenue Service; and 31) Central Bank of Nigeria.

Na’Allah said – what would be the position of the Senate – that none of the bodies had submitted its budget which by law should have come with the annual national budget for 2017, presented last December by President Muhammadu Buhari.

PREMIUM TIMES recalls that though some of these bodies, including the National Communication Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, presented their budgets to the National Assembly for 2016, it was presented well after the passage of the 2016 national budget.

For instance, as at November 2016, the FIRS budget for that year was still under consideration at the National Assembly, six months after the 2016 Appropriations was signed into law by the president.

The non-submission of the budget in line with the FRA amounted to abuse of law, said Na’Allah, who suggested that lack of provision for punishment in the circumstance of violation might have embolden the agencies.

“Our commitment to supporting this government in the fight against corruption is 100 per cent,” he said. “The way to do this is to stop abuse of law and power.”

Adeola, Lagos West senator, stressed that the non-submission of the budget had become a matter “year in year out”. He said the combined budget of the agencies was bigger than the national budget.

“We are talking about N10 trillion,” said Adeola, who first raised flag against the agencies in March 2015, while still being a member of the House of Representatives.

“It is an aberration,” said Barau Jibrin, APC-Kano. “I don’t know where this can be condoned. Money running into trillions can be spent without being budgeted for year in year out.”

While others like Messrs Sekibo and Manager urged the Senate to ensure correction and give ultimatum, Barau canvassed legislative measure to compel compliance through provision of punishment in case of infraction.

“We can’t keep reminding them,” he said.

Although the Act mentions that a minister should submit the budgets of the bodies under him/her to the National Assembly as parts of the annual national budget, Mr. Gemade told the Senate the Constitution of Nigeria does not allow a minister to table appropriation before the National Assembly.

Only the president can write the National Assembly on appropriation, the Constitution says.

So, Bukola Saraki, Senate president explained, the duty of submitting the budgets to the National Assembly within two weeks lies on Osinbajo as the acting president, who, in line with the FRA, will receive the estimates from the concerned agencies and ministers.

It is not expected that this development will constitute a fresh hurdle to the 2017 national budget, just passed by the National Assembly last week.

Baba Garbai, chairman, Senate Rules and Business, told NTA in an interview monitored by PREMIUM TIMES, that the Senate’s demand for compliance with the FRA in respect of the budgets of the 31 bodies would “in no way” stop the national budget from being given assent by  Osinbajo. — PREMIUM TIMES

—  May 17, 2017 @ 18:30 GMT