Senate gives Buhari final warning over budget2016

The statement issued by Senate spokesman, Senator
Abdullahi read in part:  “While the executive is mandated to
prepare and lay before the National Assembly a proposed
budget detailing projects to be executed, it should be made
clear that the responsibility and power of appropriation lie
with the National Assembly. If the presidency expects us to
return the budget proposal to them without any
adjustments, then some people must be living in a different
era and probably have not come to terms with democracy.
“We make bold to say, however, that the said Lagos-Calabar
rail project was not included in the budget proposal
presented to the National Assembly by President
Muhammadu Buhari, and we challenge anyone who has any
evidence to the contrary to present such to Nigerians.
“Since the beginning of the 2016 budget process, it is clear
that the National Assembly has suffered all manners of
falsehood, deliberate distortion of facts, and outright
blackmail, deliberately aimed at poisoning the minds of the
people against the institution of the National Assembly. We
have endured this with equanimity in the overall interest of
Nigerians. Even when the original submission was
surreptitiously swapped and we ended up having two
versions of the budget, which was almost incomprehensible
and heavily padded in a manner that betrays lack of
coordination and gross incompetence, we refused to play to
the gallery and instead helped the Executive to manage the
hugely embarrassing situation it has brought upon itself; but
enough is enough.
“This latest antics of this particular minister of transportation,
Rotimi Amaechi, is reckless, uncalled for and dangerously
divisive. Apart from setting the people of the southern part of
the country against their northern compatriots, it potentially
sets the people against their lawmakers from the concerned
constituencies and sets the lawmakers against themselves.
This manner of reprehensible mischief has no place in a
democracy. We hereby demand from Mr. Amaechi a publicly
tendered apology if he is not able to show evidence that the
Lagos-Calabar rail project was included in the budget.
Otherwise, he should resign forthwith.
“Finally, by the provision of Section 81 (4) (a) and (b) of the
constitution, the President is allowed to sign the budget and
kick-start the implementation of the other areas that
constitute over 90 per cent of the budget where there is
agreement between both arms, even as we engage ourselves
to resolve the contentious areas, if there were any. We,
therefore, maintain that even these contrived discrepancies
are not sufficient excuse not to sign the budget into law.
“We, therefore, urge President Buhari to sign the 2016
budget without any further delay. For every additional day
that the president withholds his assent from the bill, the
hardship in the land, which is already becoming intolerable
for the masses of our people gets even more complicated.
Certainly, as primary representatives of the people, we shall
not vacate our responsibility and watch the people continue
to suffer unduly.”
The statement followed an earlier press conference where
the Senate spokesman also claimed ignorance of the
presence of the projects in the budget presented by the
president.
House spokesman, Namdas at a press conference also,
yesterday, accused Amaechi of bringing the Calabar – Lagos
rail project to the National Assembly through the back door.
According to him, the report that the project was removed,
and its budget appropriated for the completion of the Lagos-
Kano rail project was misleading and intended to set the
Southern and Northern parts of the country against each
other.
Meanwhile, fresh insights into how political infighting in the
All Progressives Congress, APC, and ego by senior officials of
the National Assembly led to the extraction of the Lagos –
Calabar rail project and other key infrastructure projects of
the administration from budget 2016 have been unveiled.