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Citizens | Parliament | Democracy ISSN: 2536-7455 Vol 1 . No . 2 DECEmBEr 15 , 2016

orDErPAPErToDAY My Investigation Led to Salisu Buhari’s Ouster- Duru

How and Why Lagos Lost Bid for Special Status

Reps Clerk Who Spent Three Days in Office

Senate Slams Buhari’s MTEF Padding Controversy LingersFears over 2017 Budget

Unending Budget Bickering

Get up-to-the-minute updates on the Parliament on ORDERPAPER.NG | @Orderpaper | Facebook.com/Orderpaper |

Highlights of the 1st Gallery Colloquium on Budgetary Reforms

2 ORDERPAPERTODAY | December 15, 2016 3December 15, 2016 | ORDERPAPERTODAY

Editor’sNotEAnother window to engage

It is my pleasure to introduce this edition of ORDERPAPERTODAY to you. This publication is an offshoot of the mother medium- OrderPaper.ng - and offers one more window of interface between citizens and elected

representatives in Parliament. That you have this newspaper in your hand gives us a sense of satisfaction and encouragement that our modest effort to deepen the democratic space is being rewarded with your attention. For this we say thank you.

This publication has been inspired by the wide and warm acceptance which the promotional edition received across the country and amongst various stakeholders. Suffice to say, that edition was actually intended as a commemorative package published specifically for the First Gallery Colloquium which held on September 26, 2016 in Abuja. But alas, it has turned out to be the opening of another window of engagement between electors and the elected in the National and State Assemblies. We make a solemn promise to keep you satisfied and continually expectant of a fresh and sizzling package going forward.

This edition being an inspiration of the Gallery Colloquium therefore, offers reportage of that epoch event with the theme, Reforming the Budgetary Process for Accelerated Economic Development. We serve you the Communiqué; a wrap-up of entire proceedings, photographs and select speeches. Be assured that it is a collectors’ item you don’t want to keep loosely.

Because this edition may rightly be described as the Budget Issue, the cover story focuses on the unending bickering over the 2016 budget which unfortunately, is spilling into the 2017 fiscal plan. You will also find interesting sections and columns like Bills Board, Reports and Reviews, Interviews (OnTheSpot), Profile, and snippets of what is happening in the bureaucracy of the Parliament (BackroomBureau), among others.

Whilst we enjoin you to enjoy the articles in this edition, we also crave your indulgence to share your thoughts with us. We definitely count on your opinions, suggestions and criticisms to make this platform more engaging and worthwhile for all of us. Please note that you can download this edition in full on our website: www.orderpaper.ng where you can also keep abreast of happenings in the legislature on a per-second basis.

Once again, thanks for your time and the confidence reposed in us. Till the next edition comes your way again, do have a great time and we wish you a happy yuletide season.

Oke EpiaPublisher/Editor-in-Chief, (Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @resourceme)

on South-east Senators, IPoB Killings and Amnesty International

The elected Igbo men in both houses are not living up to their billing. The purpose of their being there is defeated since they cannot discuss the issues fac-ing the South-East whom they claim they are representing. If not for the likes of the Amnesty International that opened up the cankerworm against the Ndi-Igbo, where had Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and his South-east caucus been all this while the killing of the Igbos were going on? Are they just hearing the news of the killing for the first time? It is a shame that the South-East have lost real people of Ndi-Igbo representing them in both federal houses. May Chukwu Abia-Ama that brought this Amnesty International to beam their search light on this constant killing of defenceless Ndi-Igbo, fulfil the purpose of bringing the matter to the entire world. May God hear the prayers of defencelss people all over the world.

Justice Ikwumelueze(http://www.orderpaper.ng/igbo-senators-demand-probe-biafran-killings/)

of Senate and Special Status for lagosThe truth, however, is that the need to accord a special status for Lagos is

more of a national project. There is hardly any Nigerian that doesn’t have a stake in Lagos. A special federal grant for Lagos is, therefore, a necessary blueprint for the development of the country. Being the pane through which the whole world views the country, granting a special status to Lagos remains the best possible way to drive Nigeria’s development as Lagos is the country’s most industrial-ized city with needs that align with national growth and development. On the position that Lagos State already has sufficient resources to meet its needs, it is important to affirm that the population, cosmopolitan and commercial stand-ing of the state put a huge pressure on both its resources and infrastructure. The present downturn in the national economy equally exerts further pressure on Lagos as many see the City State as a place that offers a glimpse of hope for economic survival. Consequently, according to a recent survey, Lagos witnesses the influx of about 25, 000 people daily from all walks of life. It is, therefore, hoped that the upper chamber and other critical stakeholders would rise above sentimental considerations and treat the issue at stake more dispassionately. As it earlier established, in order to ensure that new windows are opened for development and growth in the national economy, it is only rational that the Federal Government constructively engages Lagos for a partnership that would enhance the prosperity of not only the state but the country at large. Given the centrality of Lagos to the overall social-economic aspiration of Nigeria, this re-mains the way forward.

Tayo Ogunbiyi, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Lagos State

(http://www.orderpaper.ng/senate-lagos-special-status/)

on North East Development CommissionWe always politicize issues in this nation; the idea of NDDC was arranged

because of environment effect from oil exploration which all Nigeria states are beneficiaries. I think we are not making sense if we are talking on how to rebuild this section (north east) of our country from national fund by voting money for the rebuilding of this area of our nation; this is very wrong. Wrong in the sense that it’s not a natural disaster; its caused by the people of this region who are not adequately informed, educated on the effect of war or violence; as a failure of their parents, leaders and government who failed to properly train their children. If care is not taken other zones will come up with another mili-tancy approach for financial gain. it should be discouraged.

Aare Oyedele Muteeu (http://www.orderpaper.ng/must-recreate-nddc-model-north-east/)

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CoMMENts/FEEdBACK

Buhari Abaribe Kanu

Trends&Briefs

of the Constitution to reduce the period within which the President or a Governor may authorize the withdrawal of monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the absence of an appropriation act from 6 months to 3 months.

“Essentially, this will compel ear-ly presentation of budget proposal by the Executive arm of government thereby giving the legislature suffi-cient time to scrutinize such propos-al,” Ekweremadu noted.

The report said sections 134 (4) & (5), 179 (4) & (5) and 225 have been amended to Extend the time for conducting presidential and Governorship re-run elections where no clear winner has emerged from 7 to 21 days to give INEC suf-ficient time to plan, considering the logistics that is required such as printing and transporting new bal-lot papers for the elections.

It also empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-regis-ter political parties for non-fulfill-ment of certain conditions such as breach of registration requirements and failure to secure/win either a presidential, governorship, Local Government chairmanship or a seat in the National or State Assembly elections.

Also, section 121 of the Constitution has been amended to guarantee a first line charge funding of State Houses of Assembly from the consolidated revenue fund of the State. If it is passed, it will free state legislatures from the grip of state governors.

Sections 147 and 192 of the Constitution were amended to Ensure that the President and Governors designate and assign portfolios to persons nominated as ministers or commissioners respec-tively prior to confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly.

It also provided a period of 60 days within which such nomi-nations shall be forwarded to the Senate or State House of Assembly following inauguration And 35 per cent representation for women in the appointment of ministers and commissioners.

Sections 51, 67, 93 and 315 were amended to Create the National

OrderPaperToday - A Bill for an Act to establish the office for Disability Affairs in Kwara State has passed through second Reading in the the House of Assembly.

Speaking on the general princi-ples of the the bill, its sponsor, Aisat Ibrahim urged members to ensure the passage of the proposed law.

Ibrahim who is the member rep-resenting Ilorin East Constituency in the Assembly said the bill if passed would guide against any form of discrimination against dis-abled in the state.

The lawmaker added that the bill would make them have access to all public facilities and provide for a central agency that would address all issues relating to them.

She said contravention of the provisions of the law would attract a fine of N100,000 or three month imprisonment or both.

Members representing Ilorin North West and Ilorin Central Constituencies Mr. Abdul Rafiu Abdul Rahman and Hajia Segilola Abdul Kadir agreed that the bill would ensure provision of amenities for people with special needs, grant

OrderPaperToday - The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday it temporarily raised the price of data to protect consumers from unhealthy price war that could lead to monopoly.

The position of the NCC was made known by its Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Dambatta during an appearance before the Senate Committee on Communications.

Recall that the Committee was mandated by the Senate last week to investigate a sudden hike in data tariff by the NCC.

Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, who presided at Tuesday’s hearing noted that the public out-cry which followed th data price in-crease necessitated the exercise.

But Dambatta told the hearing that the intervention of the NCC was designed to protect the interest of consumers.

He noted that if prices remained cheap, small operators may face dif-ficulties coping and thereby force bigger operators to form monopo-lies.

He stressed that the need to avert crisis in the telecom industry informed the decision to introduce interim price floor for data services at N0.90k per BM.

He said: “ We wanted to pro-tect the Nigerian consumer from

Assembly Service Commission and the State House of Assembly Service Commission and empower the National Assembly and State House of Assembly respectively to provide for the powers and struc-ture of the Commissions through subsequent leg-islations.

It has also made it mandatory for the President to attend a joint meeting of the National Assembly once a year to deliver a State of the Nation Address and removed the lawmak-ing power of the execu-tive arm of government under S. 315. The ex-tant provision is starkly contrary to Section 4

of the Constitution which confers law-making powers exclusively on the legislature.

The committee also tinkered with Sections 233, 237, 247, 251 and Part I of the Third Schedule of the Constitution were amend-ed to Provide for all appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court to be by leave of the Supreme Court except in the case of Interpretation of the Constitution, death sentences and fundamental human rights.

It also proposed that two justices of the Court of Appeal sitting in chambers to dispose any application for leave to appeal after considering the records of proceedings if the justices believe the interest of justice does not require an oral hearing of the application.

Also, it resolved to establish a criminal division of the Federal High Court to try electoral offenc-es, terrorism cases, economic and financial crimes cases and provide for appeals from the decisions of the National Industrial Court to the Court of Appeal.

According to the report, 12 Justices of the Court of Appeal are to be learned in Labour and Employment Matters for the pur-pose of hearing appeals from the National Industrial Court and put the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) under the control of the judi-ciary instead of the executive.

Second Schedule, Part I and II of the Constitution were altered to decongest the Exclusive Legislative List to give more powers to states. This enhances the principle of feder-alism and good governance. It sub-stituted “Post and Telegraphs” with “Post and Telecommunications”, and moved Pensions, Prisons, Railways, Stamp Duties and Wages from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List and add-ed Arbitration, Environment, Healthcare, Housing, Road Safety, pensions, Land and Agriculture, Youths, Public Complaints to the Concurrent List.

Recall that the Seventh National Assembly had concluded a cluster of amendments to the constitution which former President Goodluck Jonathan declined to sign it into law.

them access to education, cultural right and abhor any form of segre-gation.

Speaker of the Assembly, Ali Ahmad, who described the bill as promised kept with the disabled said the legislature had earlier identified with them on the International Day for Disabled and expressed confi-dence that the law would improve their wellbeing

unhealthy price war in what may lead to a monopoly that may lead us to the days of NITEL. We did not in-crease any price but merely provid-ed a regulatory standard to protect small telecom operators.”

Noting that some telecom opera-tors that lacked the capacity to com-pete with the big operators in the field, Dambatta said that the N0.90k price floor for purchase of data was a benchmark below which no opera-tor could sell.

He explained further: “We said in the interim directive measure that no operator should sell below 90k per megabite. There was a price war in the market; that was why we issued the interim directive. A situ-ation where a dominant operator provides services far below what is obtainable in the sector in order to attract more customers may lead to a situation where smaller operators will be forced to shut down.”

Dambatta however noted that there was a mix up of the interim di-rective because of instead of increase the Commission wanted reduction in price of tariff to create a balance between big and small operators.

He stressed that NCC did not set any price ceiling but simply provid-ed a price law. “We stepped in when we noticed price war in the sector. The price war was already reaching undesirable level that we had to step in to prevent a monopoly like the days of NITEL,” he stated.

The interim floor price, accord-ing to him, has been suspended temporarily to allow for further consultations and that NCC would conduct extensive research to come up with a price floor that would be acceptable to Nigerians.

OrderPaperToday - The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja may be governed by an elected mayor if a constitutional amendment pro-posed to the senate sails through.

This is part of the recommenda-tions of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review which submit-ted an interim report in plenary on Thursday.

The Constitution Review Committee, chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, also made sundry other recommendations including amendments on federal appropria-tion, local government councils, the legislative lists, and template for na-tional savings, among others.

Ekweremadu told the senate that the final copy of the constitu-tion amendment bill will be ready after harmonization is done with the House of Representatives com-mittee.

Speaking further on the rec-ommendations, Ekweremadu said: “In line with the Committee’s deci-sion to disaggregate constitutional amendment proposals into different bills, we consolidated and clustered amendment proposals into appro-priate thematic and sectional heads. While some amendment propos-als were incorporated into existing Senate Bills, others were grouped thematically.

“Additionally, some amend-ments that could not fit into any of the above classifications were pro-duced as stand-alone bills. Those stand-alone bills contain amend-ment proposals which we deem contentious, hence the need to iso-late them from other proposals.

“These clusters are given dif-ferent short titles such as Fourth Alteration Bill No.1, 2, 3, etcetera. The reason for this is to ensure that the rejection of a group of sections dealing with an issue does not affect other clusters dealing with different unconnected issues.

“This is to forestall the unsavory experience of the Fourth Alteration Bill as passed in the 7th Assembly, which after satisfying the provisions of section 9 of the 1999 Constitution as amended was not assented to by the then President.”

Details of the report laid showed that the committee recommended a uniform 3-year tenure for elected local government council officials.

It also suggested that Local Governments without a democrat-ically elected councils should not be entitled to any revenue from the Federation Account.

The committee recommended amendment of sections 256, 299, 300, 301 and 302 of the Constitution to create the office of an elect-ed Mayor for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with powers to ad-minister the area as if it were a State of the Federation by exercising all functions presently administered by the Minister of the FCT.

The committee made a provision for national savings of 50 per cent of oil revenues above the bench mark for a particular year and 10 per cent of any non-oil revenue paid into the Federation Account.

It amended sections 82 and 122

mayor for Abuja as Senate receives constitution amendment report

Kwara lawmakers move to improve welfare of disabled

We raised data price to protect consumers – NCC

Ali Ahmed

Ekweremadu

...excerpted from OrderPaper.ng


FollowTheFunds

having the status of a former Federal Capital Territory (FCT), should be ac-corded the same recognition. His po-sition was supported by Senator Aliyu Wammako from Sokoto State. In his remarks, Senator Wammako said the timing of the bill was wrong. He said many states were unable to pay workers’ salaries and meet other financial obliga-tions, hence the passage of the bill was wrong. He said: “I oppose this bill for so many reasons. The timing is wrong. They are bringing this bill at a time states cannot pay salaries. The country is going through economic hardship and I do not think it is good. I stand against this bill. If this bill is passed, it will make other states poorer and Lagos richer.”

Senator Hope Uzodima from Imo state, in his submission, said if Lagos is given a special status, other states like Enugu, Zamfara, Ekiti will ask for sim-ilar financial support and assistance. “If we go and approve a bill like this, states like Zamfara, Enugu and other states will begin to ask for support and as-sistance. I think we should look at the assets in Lagos state and see how the Federal Government can assist Lagos state to augment what its doing,” he had said.

Speaking in favour of the bill how-ever, Senator Solomon Adeola from Lagos, said the state accommodates every tribe in Nigeria. He further ar-gued that since Lagos will soon be re-garded as a mega city, it was only fair

for the Federal Government to grant special financial assistance to it. He said: “Almost every tribe of this country is represented in Lagos state. The Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas are beneficiaries. I know that the economic situation in Nigeria calls for caution. But this bill is not Lagos as a state, but for the people living there. Very soon, Lagos will be recognized as a mega city. But for us to get that status, we need to put cer-tain things in place.” Barnabas Gemade from Benue state also supported the bill. He said: “In my opinion, Lagos has been pushed to a point. Therefore, de-manding for a contribution of one per cent is not too much.” Senate Minority Whip, Senator Philip Aduda, said he will only support the bill if FCT would get similar attention and special fund-ing from the Federation Account. “I am supporting this bill. I will support it on one condition that what will be given to Lagos state should be given to other states like the FCT. Some special allo-cations should be given to FCT. FCT is over stretched and government needs to intervene. In the FCT, we have riverine areas,” he maintained.

But former governor of Nasarawa state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, re-newed the opposition stance when he argued that the passage of the bill would be unconstitutional. He therefore urged his colleagues to oppose it. “I sympa-thize with the bill. Ordinarily, I would have thrown my weight behind the bill 100 per cent. The National Assembly

does not have the jurisdiction to make any laws that makes any part of the country dip its hands into the federation account. The constitution is clear on it. This bill is suggesting one per cent of the totality accruing to the federal pool. The allocation of the Federal Government can be extended to meet the needs of states like Lagos,” he said.

At this point, Senator James Manager from Delta state, raised a point of order. “From the onset, let me say it that I am in full support of this bill, but there is a constitutional problem. Section 164 (1) makes it clear. It states that the federa-tion may make grants to states or local to supplement the revenues as may be prescribed by the National Assembly. For us to come up with a specific law for a particular state I want to say from experience, different grants have been given t different states. But we have not been able to make laws in this regard. If we are to do otherwise, it means we have to amend that aspect of the consti-tution,” he explained.

Weeks after the bill was defeated, pundits are yet to come to terms with what may have led to its rejection. For some, the defeat of the bill was believed to have been spurred by Senator Olusola Adeyeye’s position on the issue. Adeyeye who is the Chief Whip of the Senate, in his intervention, had accused some for-mer northern governors who are now lawmakers of passing laws to stop the sale and consumption of alcohol. He had also argued that such states should therefore not benefit from Value Added Taxes (VAT) paid by alcohol consumers in states like Lagos. He equally made a case that like oil producing states, Lagos should get 13 per cent from taxes paid into the Federation Account. “I do not even believe that one per cent is enough for Lagos state. But we have to be fair to Lagos state. We must not kill the chick-en that lays the golden eggs. We have a governor here who made a law that alcohol should be banned in the state. But the state where such a law was made should not benefit from VAT gotten from sale of alcohol in states where it is banned. States who contribute should get 13 of VAT like oil producing states,” he had argued.

While his colleagues were yet to re-cover from his first position, Adeyeye released another salvo when he said “the FCT is a rotten pampered child.” At this point, the chamber became rowdy, but Adeyeye continued and added that that “in Abuja, we do not pay taxes and Nigerians subsidize everything here. I am serious. In Asokoro and other plac-es, people do not pay taxes.”

For about ten minutes, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided, tried in futility to calm angry lawmak-ers who were engaged in a shouting match. Ekweremadu had to break

On Wednesday, October 5th, 2016, the Senate shocked Lagosians when it shut down a bill that made a case

for special federal grants to be given to Lagos State in recognition of its strate-gic socio-economic significance to the country.

The bill which was sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who rep-resents Lagos Central in the Red Chamber and titled, “A bill for an act to make provisions for Federal Grants to Lagos state in recognition of its stra-tegic socio-economic significance and other connected purposes”, was read for the second time on that fateful day when lawmakers overwhelmingly voted against it.

Lawmakers, predominantly drawn from the North, South-east and South-south, led the offensive against the bill. Senator Tinubu in her lead debate had argued that “Lagos is of strategic so-cial economic significance as the com-mercial nerve centre of Nigeria. Today Lagos serves as the commercial capital of Nigeria and its major nerve centre. The strategic importance of Lagos state is inherent in several sectors of the econ-omy. Available statistics indicates that 6 out of 10 international passengers arrive in Lagos why 8 out of 10 depart from Lagos. This shows that Lagos is the win-dow through which visitors travelling in and out of Nigeria leave the country.”

Making a strong case on why Lagos should be given a special status, she had argued: “According to a FIRS re-port in 2008, 86.2 percent company income taxes were collected in Lagos alone while 56.7 percent value added tax was collected in Lagos. Key sectors of the economy namely manufactur-ing, construction, telecommunications, financial institutions and insurance are domiciled in Lagos. Lagos also plays a major role as host to sporting, enter-tainment and cultural events. It is also the home of hospitality given the nu-merous hotels and restaurants located within the state.” She had further ex-plained: “The bill allows the grants pay-able to be determined by the President and Commander in Chief on the rec-ommendation of the Governor of Lagos state with the proviso that recommends the modest amount not less than 1 percent of the share of the revenue ac-cruing to the federal government. The amount is payable upon appropriation by the National Assembly. This grant will be utilised in meeting the pub-lic infrastructural need of Lagos state. For example improving on rail infra-structure to decongest the roads and for promotion of the conducive social economic environment for federal in-stitutions as well as increased the State’s capacity to continue to play host. The bill also establishes a joint committee which members both the President and the Governor of Lagos state appoints. The committee will present an annual report to the president for information outlined in the bill.”

The Lagos Senator was yet to con-clude her debate when lawmakers start-ed scrambling to speak on the conten-tious bill. In his contribution, Senator Gershon Bassey from Cross River State, opposed the bill. He argued that if Lagos state must be given a special status and allocated more funds, Cross River,

The lagos Special Status Bill: Why and How it Died

Reports&Reviews

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

remi Tinubu Saraki

Federation (SGF), David Babachir par-ticularly drew the ire of the committee which said it was baffled by his failure to even send a representative to the hear-ing. The SGF’s absence however rein-forced questions about how some N12 billion allocated to address the chal-lenges of the IDPs were spent by PINE. Specifically, answers could not be pro-vided as to how the sum of N270 mil-lion could be spent on clearing of grass;

and another N188.6million for Nigerian Refugees living in Minawao, the Republic of Cameroon. Mr. Zoro was understand-ably furious: “The SGF who was slated to have appeared hasn’t shown up, neither did he write to intimate us on why his of-fice would not come to explain why issues of internally displaced persons have re-mained un-encouraging, despite the bil-lions of naira claimed to have been spent. We have been inundated by reports of diversion of materials and funds meant for the rehabilitation of the IDPs, and the North East and the scandal had led to international embarrassment for the country. Given the issues of credibility and integrity raised against the agency in charge of the Northeast initiative (PINE) which falls under the SGF’s office, we had expected him (Babachir) to respect the invitation of the National Assembly to shed light on grey areas.”

At the hearing, the Executive of Secretary of the PINE, Mr. Umar Musa Gulani disclosed that N270million was used to award a contract for the removal of 250km of “invasive plant species along river channels and simplified village irri-gation scheme (phase II) in Komadugu Basin in Yobe State.” Committee mem-bers were visibly dissatisfied with such disclosure and responded through their chairman accordingly: “We are of the opinion that the expenditure of the mag-nitude you have made is not justified. It’s not acceptable that you would spend such a huge amount of money on the clearing of weeds, while 2.5million of internally displaced victims of terror go hungry, have no shelter and medical care.”

The SGF however remained un-available to make explanations on these grave matters of alleged misappropri-ation of billions of naira. His refusal to appear before the committee soon took

another dimension following reports of bribery alleged against the House Committee. When the allegations were gaining ground, Chairman Zoro was forced to react by declaring “that I have not received any allegations of extortion from any government official against members of the committee under my leadership, since we were constituted in September, last year. If true, the dubious plan being hatched should therefore be seen for what it is: an afterthought. As for media report about the misapplica-tion of over N250 million on a contract for removal of grass along an irrigation channel, awarded by PINE, in Yobe state, it is to be noted that the case is already a subject of public hearing at the Senate, following complaints on same.

“It is unfortunate if government officials pretend that all is well in the humanitarian field, in the North-East. Apart from on-going investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), into allegations of massive diversion of humanitarian assis-tance meant for IDPs, at different times, only the ungodly and unconscionable would deny the existence of disaster profiteers in the field.” There has been no conclusion on the investigation as at time of writing this report. In the Senate, paucity of funds appears to have stalled progress in the probe.

As Nigerians, especially the IDPs who should have directly benefitted from the funds which have allegedly been divert-ed and misapplied await outcome of the investigation, answers to the plethora of allegations are being also awaited. Many of the affected have resorted to denying security warnings by returning to their ancestral homes. It is hoped therefore that their plights are not aggravated due to the pursuit of pecuniary interests.

The National Assembly has begun an inquisition into alleged corruption, embez-zlement and diversion of

funds and aid to millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the North-east part of Nigeria. Reports of malnutrition, hunger, threats of ep-idemic and deaths have issued from several of the IDPs camps dotted across the region. Grim and gory images of malnourished children and dingy camp sites reinforced reports of a looming ca-tastrophe by international aid agencies especially the Red Cross.

All these were happening in spite of the allocation of billions of naira by the federal government to help the IDPs and ultimately resettle them into settle-ments that has been retaken from the terrorists by the military. Significantly, there is the Presidential Initiatives on the North -east (PINE) under the supervi-sion of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Soon enough, reports of diversion of food and other supplies meant for the IDPs began to surface in the media; and in no time, it appeared embezzlement, misappro-priation and misapplication of funds for the unfortunate victims of the over six years boko haram terror campaign had become an embarrassing item of con-cern among Nigerians.

It was against this background that the National Assembly was jolted to be-gin a probe. Both the Senate and House of Representatives separately set off on this mission to find out the truth about funds appropriated for IDPs. In the House of Representatives, a standing committee specially constituted for the North-east under the current leadership of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, soon sprang into action following a referral from plenary. Unfortunately, a public inves-tigative hearing on October 6, 2016 by the Sani Zoro-led Committee on IDPs and the North East Initiatives recorded the absence of some key stakeholders expected to provide much needed ex-planations on what happened to funds appropriated for welfare of the IDPs. Secretary to the Government of the

Can the National Assembly Track Billions of Stolen IDPs Funds?

parliamentary protocol by standing up in order to restore sanity to the trou-bled chamber.

Another school of thought holds the strong view that Senator Tinubu’s posture and sometimes arrogant man-nerism may have been responsible for the outright defeat. Unlike other lawmakers who usually build support when sponsoring important bills or motions, Senator Tinubu, it was gath-ered, did not consult any member. The ‘ghost’ of her fallout with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki in June, 2015 when lawmakers were sworn-in is still believed to be hunting and hurting her. Recall that she declined to shake hands with Saraki when she was sworn-in, as against the normal practice. That incident did not go down well with key supporters of Saraki, who are be-lieved were yet to forgive her misdeeds. Besides that, Mrs. Tinubu is believed not to maintain sufficiently cordial rela-tionship with Senators, especially those drawn from the north. Her most recent face-off with Senator Dino Melaye fur-ther alienated her.

There are however questions. Barely

three weeks after the bill was defeat-ed, the Senate passed the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill which empowers the federal gov-ernment to set up a commission to rebuild the North-east region follow-ing its devastation by Boko Haram terrorists. The bill provides that the commission should be funded by 3 per cent of the federation’s value add-ed tax (VAT) for a period of ten years. Angered by the development, the three Senators representing Lagos state, kicked against the approval of the 3% VAT for the NEDC for when an ear-lier request for 1% VAT for Lagos was rejected by the same Chamber. But such protest can only be for the me-dia because according to the Senate Standing Rules, Mrs. Tinubu will have to wait for at least one year before she can represent the bill. Pundits however posit that the cantankerous wife of for-mer Lagos State governor may be able to build the needed consensus to push the bill through if she stoops enough to buy the support of her colleagues. Until then, Lagos will have to wait for the prospect of more special funding from the federal purse.

The lagos Special Status Bill: Why and How it DiedCONTINUED FROM PAGE 4


Throwback

Throwback

could think independently.”Mr. Duru went down memory lane

to speak of the rise and fall of the first Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 4th Republic, Salisu Buhari. He detailed how the group to which he be-longed galvanized resources and sup-port to see to Buhari’s exit. In fact, Chidi Duru took credit for the expose on the then Speaker which led to his eventual fall from grace to grass. Hear him: “At that time, my group sat and decided that for us to be able to have the House of Representatives that we desired we must be able to have the kind of Speaker that reflected the tendencies, backgrounds, experience and maturity of the people that are in the National Assembly. And it was easy for us to see that among the candidates running for Speaker, one of them was not qualified. And I am talking of Buhari who later emerged as Speaker of the House. We did find out that he was not qualified and competent and that he lacked the background to lead the House and we plotted his removal. And we were happy that in spite of the preference of the ruling party and then President (Olusegun) Obasanjo we exposed his incompetence and deficiencies which led him to honourably resign for Hon. Umar Ghali Na’Abba to emerge as Speaker.

“In the campaign build-up, we had Salisu Buhari; Farouk Lawan and Sadik Yar’Adua from Katsina State. When we evaluated, our choice veered between Sadik and Farouk in terms of preference. We saw the weakness of Buhari which was brought to the attention of the PDP (led by late Solomon Lar) and the gov-ernment at that time.

“The certificate he said he had from Toronto, Canada was not issued by the institution he claimed. And I must say that the investigation was done at my in-stance; we found out that he did not go through that school. Through my broth-er in the US, we engaged a reputable law firm which contacted the University of

destroyed whatever reputation he had; sat in Enugu and wrote the results of the primaries which took place in Anambra State. We had to come to Abuja with vid-eo evidence of voting by aged and young for me. For some righteous moment, the PDP decided I was the candidate of the party and sent my name to INEC to rep-resent Aguata federal constituency. Even after the election, INEC was again used to declare a different person as candidate which put me through the Tribunal and Appeal Court for some 8 months before I triumphed.”

So how has life in the private sector been for Chidi Duru? He said his busi-ness activities have revolved around Grand Towers Ltd, a holding company that “we use to engage in every oppor-tunity that we find- electronic payment systems, real estate, realty, pension. We founded and promoted First Guaranty Pension which became one of the thriv-ing PFAs in Nigeria.” But the Pension company has taken him through hell and back with dirty ownership battles and attempts to push him out in the last five years or so. He was even labelled a criminal and prosecuted on what later became trumped-up charges that were later withdrawn and thrown out by the Court. He tells the story: “The events of the last few months took root in 2011. As the promoter/founder of First Guarantee Pensions, I had the singular honour of re-ceiving a license as a PFA. (Unlike other PFAs promoted by banks, and other big corporate entities) I invited a number of subscribers and shareholders. The busi-ness paid its first dividends in 2010. Then the regulator did what it called Special Target Report in which a number of al-legations were thrown up. We went to court to challenge it and on August 11, 2011 the court gave a judgement asking the regulator to suspend the implemen-tation of the report.” He said the regulator flouted the ruling; took over the company and appointed an Interim Management Committee which is still in existence “against the clear instructions of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the country at the time (Mohammed Adoke) who wrote two different let-ters asking for the order of the court to be obeyed.” According to him, a final judgement was delivered on July 18, 2012 which upbraided the regulator for “being

Toronto and we received feedback that there was no graduate of the school by any name called Salisu Buhari. To double check, we went back to say ‘do a search with an interchange of the name- Buhari Salisu- because it is not uncommon for that to happen. The school again re-sponded that there was neither Salisu Buhari nor Buhari Salisu. They made all these correspondences through my brother in the US.” When reminded that it was a Community Newspaper in Kano that first broke the story of Buhari’s Toronto scandal, Duru agreed but dis-closed that it was his group that availed the publication the evidence as sourced from Canada. “Yes we gave the docu-ments to the community newspaper and the News magazine which did a front page expose – Buhari: the face of a liar- and that drew public attention and it be-came impossible for our party to contin-ue to condone him,” he stressed.

As someone who played such cru-sading role in the fall of Salisu Buhari, what is his relationship with the former Speaker? Duru responded thus: “We have always been (in contact) and I want to believe that we remain friends. He was very charismatic, determined and hardworking and had a charming per-sonality. But it was not his time because of the background that he had. He was counselled ahead not to present himself but he refused.” As for other members of

reckless, lawless and verging on impunity in the exercise of its regulatory function. The regulator still declined to obey and resorted to using law enforcement agen-cies to criminalize what had been adjudi-cated upon by the law courts. I was run through ICPC, Police and EFCC. ICPC declined to get involved because it was not part of the mandate. I was declared wanted and criminal charges were filed against me in an Abuja court. Based on our stout defence backed up with all pre-vious court papers, the court quashed the charges against me. They now resorted to a media campaign against me and got the EFCC to step in against the recom-mendations of two previous panels in the Commission which had investigated the matter and found nothing against me.” Duru then narrated how the EFCC un-der Ibrahim Lamorde was influenced to file criminal charges against him in a Lagos court “and not in the Abuja juris-diction where I live. The aim was to in-flict maximum discomfort and also to fo-rum-shop since the courts in Abuja were sufficiently aware of the matter.” (It was a friend in Lagos who called his attention to the suit as he was never served to file

the 4th and 5th Assemblies with whom he served, Duru says he has been in touch with some of them especially those who reside in Lagos and Abuja and who have had cause to be brought together at events. “And we continue to debate as former legislators about we can help soci-ety be a better place,” he adds.

How has life been since he left the National Assembly? He replies that “it’s been very exciting and engaging. Since I exited the House of Representatives, I have not set foot in the precincts of the National Assembly. I have not consulted nor do I intend to consult for any com-mittee of the House but that is not to say that from the background I have not offered advice when I consider it nec-essary. Over time, we have had some of our successors in the National Assembly seek us out to engage on how they can become better legislators and how some of the Bills that did not see the light of the day before we left can be given life and passed.

“Of particular note is the Anti-Trust Bill that I sponsored which did not get signed into law. I have made inputs into continuation processes for that Bill and I am hoping that it will see the light of day. I first introduced that Bill in 2004 through a USAID sponsorship and a law firm in Lagos which assisted in bringing all the resources together; we got it passed in the House of Reps and the Senate but it was

a defence). He thereafter petitioned the AGF “who had previously written five letters to the IG of Police and three letters to EFCC dating back to 2012 and 2013, advising against any further action on the matter. I had to petition the current AGF and Mr. President. The AGF then wrote the EFCC and asked for the file.” That intervention, he concluded, led to the current relief whereby the criminal charges were withdrawn by the EFCC and consequently quashed by the court on November 11, 2016.

Going through such testy times could leave bitter taste in the mouth of even the most stoic fellow. But not with Duru. Hear him: “In all of these, am I bitter? No. Do I hold any grudge against anyone? No. I am glad that I have not deviated from the known path of honour, integrity and nobility. There was an admonition which my dad gave to me when he was alive; that my grandfather who was his father told him that despite all his wealth which he would inherit, the major thing for him was his name and he hoped that my father would pass on this good name to his children. When my father was alive, he reminded me of that and also told me that regardless of his wealth which I would inherit what he would pass on to me was his good name. And for me, that baton that was passed unto me would not stop in my own line; I should be able to pass on this good name to my children. I don’t regret it. My life is never one of re-gret; I don’t regret anything at all; I pick my successes and failures as part of the experiences necessary for my maturity.”

The former lawmaker in spite of all has been involved in helping society through his Foundation which inter-venes for “off-targeted orphanages, wid-ows, indigent students who are otherwise brilliant and intelligent but cannot pay their school fees. And I am happy to note that through that effort we have about 28 persons who have graduated from tertia-ry institutions and quite a huge number that are going through primary and sec-ondary schools.”

Is Nze Duru thinking of returning to politics? He would neither say yes or no. “Let me just say I like engaging in the public space; I keep an open mind,” he says, adding briskly: “My experience in the last five years reinforces my belief that we need to keep engaging in the public space.”

Nze Chidi Okechukwu Duru was a two-term member of the House of Representatives. Lawyer,

businessman and scion of a wealthy fa-ther, Chidi represented Aguata Federal Constituency of Anambra State at a very turbulent period of politicking in the National Assembly. He however held his own, made a mark and moved back to the private sector after exiting the Green Chamber in 2007.

Between 1999-2003 he served along the likes of Farouk Lawan; Ita Enang who is now Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate); Gabriel Suswam who became two-time Governor of Benue State; Mohammed Kumaila; Adams Jagaba (who is still a member of the House af-ter a 4-year interregnum); Abubakar Bawa Bwari (current Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development); Patricia Etteh (who was forced to resign as Speaker in the 5th Assembly); and Nicholas Ukachukwu (the Igbo man who represented Bwari/Abuja Municipal Council of Abuja). In the subsequent 5th Assembly, Chidi Duru was sworn into office in 2004 after a protracted le-gal battle at the Elections Petition and Appeal Tribunal. He joined others like Aminu Tambuwal (who later became Speaker and is currently the Governor of Sokoto State); Bala Ngilari (who lat-er became Deputy Governor and then Governor of Adamawa State); Suleiman Nazif (currently a Senator); Mohammed Ndume (current Leader of the Senate); Mercy Almona-Isei; Pius Odubu (imme-diate past deputy governor of Edo State); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (current Governor of Enugu State); Hadi Sirika (current Minister of Aviation); Femi Gbajabiamila (current Leader of the House); and Usman Nafada (former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and serv-ing senator).

Being among such leading lights in the legislature and in the limelight of na-tional politics was for Chidi an unforget-table experience that taught him lots of lessons that are still useful in his current endeavours. “There were quite a number of memories and there was no dull mo-ment,” he told ORDERPAPERTODAY in an interview. He continued: “The ex-perience gave one the platform and op-portunity to come in contact with people from different backgrounds and parts of the country with varied experiences and knowledge. You cannot discount the benefits of that collegiate experience the National Assembly offers. This al-lowed for robust discussions and debate within the Chambers of the House of Representatives. What was very striking and enriching for me personally was that a number of those that were elected into the House were people who on their own strength stood for and won elections and

not assented to by the President. And I think it is a very critical legislation.”

Chidi Duru also spoke about his ex-perience of politics with specific refer-ence to the factor of godfatherism and leadership succession generally. His take is that the country must institute a clean and fair electoral system which respects and upholds the wishes of the people above and beyond every other consid-eration. Hear him: “What is important is that we continue to push for an electoral system that reflects the will of the major-ity of the people- whether it is by way of a godfather or a communal effort or by somebody coming on his own strength- as long as the people are allowed to elect their choices through a free and fair elec-tion; that would be my advocacy.” To buttress his point, the former Member of Parliament narrated how personal interest prevailed over the collective will of the people with respect to elections into Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country. “In 2000/2001 the then President through some subterfuge made it impossible for state electoral bodies to conduct elections into chairmanship and councillorship positions across the coun-try on the excuse that it was impossible to provide an updated voters register. And the reason was very simple: the President felt that if council polls were held at that time it would be impossible for him to win in Ogun State where the AD (Alliance for Democracy) was very strong. So he reached some understand-ing with AD governors and APP (All Peoples Party) which was pushed down the throat of PDP governors and the Council of State meeting held and passed a resolution that because it was impossi-ble to provide an updated voters register council elections could not hold and that governors of the respective states be al-lowed to appoint caretaker committees. That was and still a present danger to our democracy in Nigeria which subverted the Constitution of the country. And that began the extension of the tentacles of a strong man in the politics of Nigeria at the detriment of institutions. And it was convenient for governors too as it gave them powers to appoint all manners of characters into councils and that gave them direct control of federal allocations for that arm of government. And that for me began the issue of subversion of the will of the people in Nigeria. And that showed down the line it could be possi-ble to promote a third term agenda for President Obasanjo because if he could truncate the will of the people at that level then he could as well amend the consti-tution to secure a third term in office. We are still facing the consequences of that- governors became overbearing; godfa-thers with a link to the centre exploited it to their advantage; and the president not knowing that there is a divide between him governing the country and the party governing the party structure. And this has had a direct impact on leadership re-cruitment in the country.” He then went on to narrate how that development af-fected his political career: “This did affect me of course because it was the unwrit-ten rule that people who were not be-holden to their governors or party god-fathers should not be allowed to emerge as candidates of the party and must not be allowed to come back to the National Assembly. In my case I was fortunate; the primary was held 10 times and 9 times it was cancelled. The last one was held un-der the chairmanship of a man I consid-er to be reputable by what I had read in the media- who came to Anambra State,

I Exposed Salisu Buhari’s Toronto Certificate Scam – Chidi Duru

legislative Appointments of Chidi Duru (1999-2007)• Deputy Chairman - House Committee

on Aviation 1999-January 2000• Chairman - House Committee on

Privatization (2000 – 2003)• Chairman - House Committee on

Housing (February-June 2003)• Ad Hoc Chairman - House Committee

on Pension reform • Chairman- House Committee on

Public Petitions May 2004 – 2007

Salisu Buhari

Chidi Duru


Cover

that the legislature was deliberately stalling passage of the budget.

Enter the Padding Controversy...

By this time however, the phrase ‘budget padding’ lexicon had been forcefully stamped into the budgetary process with officials of both arms of government trading blames and pass-ing the buck. President Buhari quickly exonerated himself, saying he was hear-ing of the phrase for the first time. He however reacted by redeploying some officials in the Budget Office as a form of punishment. Ripples of padding were also ripping through the National Assembly as alleged dirty details of how Jibrin manipulated the process to his advantage emerged. That was eventual-ly led to his sack as chairman of one of the most powerful and “juicy” standing committees of the House. And of course that opened a Pandora box of alleged budget fraud and malfeasance which has continued to reverberate in the pol-ity till date. Determined not to go down alone, an embattled Jibrin attempted to pull the roof down; he specifically tar-geted four principal officers including Speaker Yakubu Dogara of padding the 2016 budget to the tune of several billions of naira in personal projects. Others fingered by Jibrin include Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and Chief Whip Alhassan Doguwa. All four men have vehemently denied the charges. The presidency on

between both arms of government.

Denials and Counter-claims...

When the ‘missing’ budget eventual-ly ran through its embarrassing course, another chapter of the ugly saga entered as many of the agencies which appeared before respective committees of the National Assembly to defend their esti-mates often times were in possession of details that were at variance with what the committees had. Recall that the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole at a time flatly denied the estimates in the possession of the Committee on Health in the Senate.

These developments gave rise to a lot of suspicions on the genuineness of the entire document. It took a lot of efforts between the executive and leg-islative arms of the federal government to have some of the many discrepan-cies resolved. But when the budget was eventually passed by both houses of the National Assembly on March 23, 2016, President Buhari insisted on being fur-nished with the details before he would sign the document. The national assem-bly had to make these available before President Buhari eventually signed the budget about a month later. Meanwhile, in the face of the whole confusion, the suspended former chairman of the House committee on appropriations, Abdulmumuni Jibrin was dramatically in the forefront of defending the legisla-ture against charges from the executive

its part however insisted that what the President signed into law as 2016 budget was not padded. A defiant Jibrin howev-er continued the fight, petitioning the presidency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies. He has con-tinually carried on the crusade on social media among other platforms.

The obasanjo Salvo...But either way, the padding allega-

tion later posed a lot of challenges to the implementation of the budget. The issue of constituency projects formed a notable node in this fresh line of sour grapes between both arms of govern-ment. And this has attracted interven-tions from former president Olusegun Obasanjo who accused the National Assembly of corruption and budget fraud. Relying apparently on Mr. Jibrin’s expose, the former Head of State who incidentally cannot exonerate himself from issues of corruption in the federal legislature, took the law-making institu-tion to the cleaners, saying the national assembly is a den of armed robbers. He got a heavy-handed response from the House of Representatives which swift-ly described him as the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria who was cheaply “procured by a renegade member” to discredit the hallowed chamber.

Constituency Projects Tango...

But signals that the budget may face such challenges was first dropped by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, who declared that the Federal Government cannot fully implement the N6.06 trillion budget as passed by the National Assembly. Lawal told a joint Senate committee on Appropriations, Finance and Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions that the revenues of the government had dropped by between 50 to 60 percent, far from the initial projec-tions. “We cannot guarantee the imple-mentation of constituency projects in the 2016 budget,” the SGF said, adding: “As a government, constituency proj-ects are championed by members of the National Assembly. Like the legislature, members of the executive are politicians

who canvassed for votes. Lawmakers are aware that oil barrels had dwindled to about 800,000 barrels per day. This has led to the inability of government to finance the budget. It is the duty of government to prepare the minds of Nigerians ahead that there will be challenges in implementing the budget.

“Government, based its principle on zero budgeting this year, funds will be re-leased to finance key projects in line with the implementation plans of the govern-ment. Some Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) might find it impossi-ble to implement projects appropriated in their budgets. We have to re-prioritize.” Save for pockets of statistics on fund re-leases for capital projects, there has not been much of official disclosures on the level of implementation of the 2016 bud-get.

2017 Budget and the mTEF Challenge...

It is amidst this scenario that plans for the 2017 budget started. In October, President submitted the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the National Assembly preparatory to the submission of the 2017 budget. The documents have for the last couple of weeks suffered some serious setback as the Senate especially tore them to shreds, de-scribing the MTEF as empty. There were worse words used: Senator Dino Melaye said the document was a fraud; Sen. Stella Oduah said it did not make sense; while Sen. Solomon Olamilekan zeroed in on the economic team of the President, describ-ing it as being in disarray. Even though the documents were eventually referred to the Committees on Appropriation, Finance and National Planning, a big war front had been opened on the 2017 bud-get which cannot be submitted until the MTEF/FSP is dispensed with.

Dark Clouds Surround 2017 Budget...

As things stand, it is not unexpected that the 2017 budget would face the chal-lenge of passage in the parliament, more because members’ constituency interven-tion projects in the 2016 budget seemed to be the worst hit in the face-off.

Recurring controversy over the nation-al budget has become a hallmark of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Unfortunately, there seems to be no

signs of a let-off in the brewing face-off between the Executive and the National Assembly on the nag-ging issue. Rather, matters appear to be escalating thereby raising fears that the 2017 budget may not offer much solace to the suffering economy just like the case in 2016. And if this eventually happens, the administration would have lost two critical budget circles needed to positively stamp its mark on the economy and fulfil its many campaign promises.

The Beginning...The 2016 budget was the first conceived and

presented to the National Assembly for passage by President Buhari who assumed office in the middle

of implementation of the 2015 fiscal year contrived by his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. There was expectedly, much hope placed on it. But to the dis-appointment of many, the process took off on a very shaky note even though the delay in the appoint-ment of ministers had laid the foundation for such. (Recall that ministers were not sworn into office until November 2015, thereby leaving much of the budget preparation to bureaucrats in the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies under the co-ordination of the Budget Office of the Federation.) In spite of that, the budget that was presented by Buhari before a joint session of the National Assembly on December 22, 2015, had elicited much hope as it was christened the ‘Budget of Change.’ The federal legis-lature shut its doors after the ceremony and proceed-ed for recess for the Christmas and New Year break, postponing work on the document to January 2016.

lost and Found Budget...The nation was treated to a nollywood soap opera

script when federal lawmakers resumed from their recess to announce that the 2017 budget submitted a fortnight before was ‘missing.’ Since nothing of such had ever been heard of in the annals of the coun-try’s history not a few dismissed the story as a joke in January. But it was not after all as two versions of the documents were bandied about in both chambers of the National Assembly even though the House of Representatives insisted that it was in possession of what was submitted in December. It was when the Senate officially put the blame of the ‘missing’ bud-get episode on the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (senate), Sen. Ita Enang, that the nation realized that some high-level political games were being played with the federal budget. And as things turned out, the game was a ping pong ding dong affair of buck-passing

The Lingering Budget Controversy

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SarakiBuhari Dogara

Jibrinobasanjo


TheGalleryColloquium

Parliament&Profile

Progressives Congress (APC). In that assembly, he was a member of the spe-cial adhoc committee on the review of the constitution; and appointed vice chairman of the committee on Water Resources.

He contested again and retained the same federal constituency seat in the 2015 general elections on the grace of the same political family. Following high-wire politicking by the two prominent camps jostling for the lead-ership of the House, Lasun who was later adopted as the running mate to incumbent Speaker, Yakubu Dogara. He contested against Mohammed Mongono (APC, Borno) of the Femi Gbajabiamila camp and eventually polled a majority vote of 203 to emerge Deputy Speaker.

As his current position demands, Lasun heads the adhoc committee for the review of the constitution and also presides over consideration of reports in the House. He is also the deputy head of Nigeria’s delegation to the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) confer-ences which hold every year. He was elected deputy speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament at the 44th session of the body in 2015, thereby becoming the first incumbent deputy speaker of the Reps to hold that position. But by far, the most prominent and tasking con-tribution he has recorded in the House

since his emergence is the challenge of cleaning up the 2016 national bud-get which had become a controversial ding-dong affair between the presi-dency and the national assembly at the time.

Born on October 4, 1960 in Ilobu, Osun, Lasun had his primary and sec-ondary education in the state, before gaining admission into the presti-gious University of Ife and University of Ibadan to study Mechanical Engineering at the level of First degree and Masters respectively. He has been

honoured him with traditional titles including: the Ikolaba of Ilobu land; the Agbaakin of Ilare and the Basorun of Obaagun all in Osun State.

Deputy Speaker Lasun is a rec-ognised grassroots politician in Osun State and has through his constituen-cy development intervention projects empowered a notable number of his constituents. There are whispers about the Osun gubernatorial contest heard around him these days. But that will be confirmed in no distant time from now.

The emergence of Mr. Suleiman Yussuff Lasun as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on

June 9, 2015 surprised not a few fol-lowers of the politics of leadership suc-cession in the National Assembly. This was because he did not really appear as a known contender in the race in the beginning. Even as a returning mem-ber of the House, not much was known of him until fate and fortune smiled on the Osun-born lawmaker on that memorable day when he got elected as the number two member of the House by his colleagues.

Lasun’s political rise has its roots almost entirely in Osun State. He was once appointed by Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Chairman of the state’s Capital Territory Development Authority, a body charged with the mandate to ensure speedy develop-ment of the capital town of Oshogbo. His first attempt to represent his peo-ple in Abuja however, was in 2007 but he lost the bid.

By 2011, he ran for and won a seat into the House of Representatives to represent Osogbo/Olorunda/Irepodun/Orolu Federal Constituency of Osun State on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), a party that later merged with some other parties to form the current All

meet lasun, reps Deputy Speaker

lasun

performance of the National Assembly. Second, it cultivated germane rec-

ommendations and ideas for legislative and executive branch leaders to harness as building blocks for result oriented relations in their service to the Nigerian people.

Third, it highlighted practical steps that the National Assembly can begin to take immediately to build its capaci-ty and reposition itself as a credible and effective people oriented institution of legislative governance.

Fourth and finally, the Gallery Colloquium communicated concrete proposals on how to reform the bud-getary process with a view to trans-forming Appropriation Acts into veri-table tools for the accelerated economic development of Nigeria.

It is a further testament to the so-lemnity of the issues considered at the Gallery Colloquium that consequen-tial leaders from the legislative, execu-tive, media, civil society, development partners, the diplomatic corps, and private sector were personally in at-tendance to enrich the discourse. They include: the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and a host of his colleagues, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu and a sizeable number of his colleagues, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and now Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Senior Special

Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate),Ita Enang, immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, the Honorable Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, who was represented by the Director of Economic Growth in the Ministry, Kayode Obasa, and Fiscal Governance Expert and Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice (CENSOJ), Eze Onyekpere.

Members of the panel session were high-end individuals of enviable ac-complishments in their various fields of endeavours. They are Senator John Enoh, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance and a former Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House of Representatives; Dapo Olorunyomi, consummate and cel-ebrated media guru who is cur-rently Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts and a respected ranking member; and Sen. Chris Anyanwu, member of the 6th and 7th Senate and media practitioner of repute. Others are Senator Shehu Sani, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debt, and renowned civil rights ac-tivist; Chief Victor Muruako, Acting Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, and accomplished law-yer and good governance advocate;

Hon. Lawal Garba, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Constituency Projects, and consum-mate lawyer; and Mr. Imoni Amarere, MD of DaarNews Services and a test-ed broadcast journalist of high repute. Whilst the session was moderated by yours sincerely, a team of rapporteurs led by Chido Onumah, Coordinator of Africa Centre for Media and Information Literacy, ensured that a carefully and expertly crafted commu-nique was ready for scrutiny and sub-sequent adoption by participants at the Colloquium.

The hope and expectation now is first, for the leadership of NASS, par-ticularly and more importantly, to take the communiqué arising from the Gallery Colloquium, study it and patriotically proceed to implement as many of the brilliant resolutions and recommendations contained therein as is feasible. The onus is equally on the Executive branch of Government to take urgent steps towards implement-ing areas that verge on its jurisdiction as far as the budgetary process is con-cerned. And finally, for citizens to rise up from their docile state of agony and begin to actively organize and partici-pate in the governance of their country by holding their elected leaders, at all levels, to account.

The message is that a people-orient-ed, development focused and responsive National Assembly that will facilitate

the implementation of Government policies by an equally respon-sive and responsible Executive is possi-ble. Indeed… A New Nigeria is Possible.

Anthony Ubani is the Convener of Future

Capital Seminars (FCS) and Chief Executive

Officer of Africa Leadership Advantage

(AFRILEAD)

By Anthony UbAni

Against the disturbing back-drop of declining confi-dence in the legislature and mounting citizens’

frustration leading to fast depleting trust in the National Assembly, the first Gallery Colloquium was organized by OrderPaper.ng to focus on how to re-form the budgetary process. The event was carefully conceived and calibrat-ed to convene legislators, executive branch officials and stakeholders in the Nigerian project in a somber en-vironment where they could begin an informed conversation on how best to reposition the legislature, enhance ex-ecutive/legislative relations and reform the budgetary process in Nigeria.

First of its kind in Nigeria, the Gallery Colloquium was an unqualified success in style, substance and delivery. Fresh and innovation ideas on how to transform the National Assembly into a peoples’ legislature; improve exec-utive/legislative relations and reform the budgetary process in Nigeria were harvested from the Colloquium. In the main, the Colloquium delivered sub-stance on all four of its principal objec-tives.

First, the Gallery Colloquium suc-ceeded in setting the appropriate agen-da and tone for the commencement of a productive and rancor free debate on the ‘budget padding’ saga and the

Setting the Agenda for Budget reforms


Sights of the Gallery ColloquiumOn September 26, 2016 OrderPaper.ng hosted the maiden episode of its annual Gallery Colloquium. The epochal event which

attracted attendance and participation from a broad spectrum of society, focused on budgetary reforms for accelerated national de-velopment. The programme also served as the official public presentation of OrderPaper.ng as performed by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, CFR. The list of high profile guests at the Colloquium included Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara; Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, CFR; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, represented by Mr. Kayode Obasa, Director of Economic Growth in the Ministry; Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang; current and former Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, Media Chiefs, Chief Executives and top officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), representatives of the Diplomatic Community and Development Agencies; among other top dignitaries. Here are some pictures of the event as captured by NASCARD & Michael Adeeyo l-r: Sen. John Enoh, Anthony Ubani and Dapo olorunyomi of Premium Times

l-r: Sen. Ekweremadu, Epia and Dogaral-r: Hon. Eddie mbadiwe, Governor Tambuwal and Epial-r: Sen. Sani, Governor Tambuwal, Speaker Dogara, Sen. Ekweremadu and Epia

Hon. Garba Sen. Ita Enang Eze onyekpere Kayode obasa Sen. Ekweremadu Hon. mustapha Dawaki Chido onumah Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf

l-r: Hon. mohammed Wudil, Chuks ohuegbe and Hon. Timothy GoluSen. Joshua Dariye, Epia and Sen. Uche EkwunifeDr. Paddy Njoku (left) and Governor TambuwalSen. Chris Anyanwu (left) and Victor muruakoImoni Amarere

l-r: Hon. C.I.D. maduabum, Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki and others Sen. Enoh, Hon. Ihedioha, Dan Akpovwa and Governor Tambuwal Cross section of participants Cross section of participants Cross section of participants

l-r: Sen. Shehu Sani, Hon. Kingsley Chinda and Hon. lawal Garba

l-r: Sen. Dino melaye, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and Governor Tambuwal

l-r: Segun Adeniyi, Kayode obasa, oke Epia, Governor Aminu Tambuwal and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara

l-r: Speaker Dogara and Epia


TheGalleryColloquium

TheGalleryColloquium National Assembly oversight of the Budgeting Process and Non Implementation of Approved Budgets

When Appropriation Bill is signed into law by Mr. President it becomes an Act of the National Assembly. The Executive is enjoined to execute all laws made by the National Assembly. The Appropriation Act is the major instru-ment for delivery of services to the nation. It is akin to a social contract between the people and its government. If for any rea-son, such as revenue shortfall, it becomes impracticable to execute aspects of the Appropriation Act, the Appropriation Act has provided a mechanism for a resolution through consultations. A sit-uation where the Executive branch picks and chooses which aspects of the Act to execute without consultation with the Legislature is untidy and undermines the foundation of the constitutional or-der. Appreciable Budget implementation will act as stimulus and help to reflate the economy. The Legislature, consequently should rise up and conduct proper over-sight on the activities of the Executive with respect to the budget to ensure that projects and programmes contained in the Budget to improve the economy, fight poverty, provide infrastructure, educa-tion, health services and enhance socio economic development of the nation is carried out. I have consequently, recent-ly directed relevant Committees of the House to conduct oversight of MDAs on the level of implementation of the 2016 Budget. The Constitution assigns the role of acting as a check on the Executive by monitoring and supervision of projects and using the power of investigation pro-vided in S.88 and 89 of the Constitution, to the National Assembly.

Budget reformA review of how annual budgets or

Appropriation Bills have been prepared and executed in Nigeria since 1999 will reveal an unsatisfactory state of affairs. There is therefore an urgent need for Budget Reform in Nigeria. It is axiom-atic to note that any realistic, credible and lasting Budget Reform process will involve:i. A review of the Legal Framework

to ensure that the Annual Budget is submitted on time. This will lead to amendment of S.81(1) CFRN, which gives the President authority to present the estimates of revenue and expenditure ‘at any time’ within a financial year;

ii. The imperative necessity to ensure that the Budget is passed on time, be-fore the commencement of the next financial year. This may, if necessary, require that a budget time frame be included in the Constitution to bind both The Executive and Legislature;

iii. A clear development plan with broad national consensus should be put in place that deals with short, medium and long term plans of the nation;

iv. We must ensure that yearly budgets follow the development plans as much as possible, except emergen-cies arise. MTEF should be detailed enough to contain major projects contemplated in a three year period with approximate costings;

v. Projects that are admitted to the

decisions on developmental objectives and priorities of the nation, with respect to poverty reduction, increased employ-ment opportunities, relevant infrastruc-tural development, like power supply, Mining and Solid Mineral development; Transportation Services such as road construction, provision of Rail services, Seaport and Airport. It provides for so-cial and economic development services such as education, health, Food security, housing, security of lives and property, human capital development and social services. It ensures the economic growth and development of the nation through deliberate micro and macro economic policies embedded therein.

A Budget should reflect not just na-tional priorities but also the priorities of the ruling party. As our democracy ma-tures, elections would be based on con-trasting visions of development which is submitted to the electorate to decide. Therefore, when a political party comes to power, it would be ready to govern from day one, based on the programmes and vision placed before the electorate. Of course, the new government must conduct a proper audit of the situation of things in various sectors to understand the system and recalibrate its policies,

National Budget are not properly thought through and based on ac-tual need with relevant spread to reflect federal character of Nigeria. This entails that project selection process must be more transparent, need based and technically driven with justification. Discretionary and whimsical selection of projects must be downplayed;

vi. That the Technical capacity of both the bureaucracy and Members of both the Executive and legislative branch on budget matters is deliber-ately beefed up. We must as a legis-lature ensure during this session that the National Assembly Budget and Research Office, Bill (NABRO) is fi-nally passed and signed into Law, to provide timely and accurate financial and economic information to the Legislature;

vii. There should be extensive stakehold-er consultation at the executive level during preparation of the Budget;

viii. There must be a robust Pre-budget interface between the Executive and Legislature, to reduce areas of fric-tion during the Appropriation pro-cess. Indeed the National Assembly should be consulted on issues of project selection. In any case, even though there is both constitutional and practical need and imperative for the National Assembly to work in a cooperative manner with the Executive on Budgeting matters, nevertheless, it cannot give up its constitutionally assigned responsi-bilities in the budget process in the guise of seeking cooperation with the Executive branch. The watchword is cooperation not abdication;

ix. Clear Budgetary objectives and gov-ernment targets to be achieved in the Budget should be clearly stated. Government must set out clear objec-tives and targets it intends to achieve during the budget year, which should be widely disseminated to all stake-holders and the Nigerian people;

x. Reform of the process of the pas-sage of the Appropriation Act in the National Assembly that encourages more openness and transparency es-pecially at the Committee levels. The plenary of both Houses should be more involved in the Schedule to the Appropriation Act;

xi. Subjecting Budget Defence exer-cise to stakeholder involvement in a form of public hearing. Subjecting the annual budget to public scruti-ny at National Assembly will give stakeholders opportunity to make their inputs and challenge incorrect assumptions in the Budget. This

where necessary. The budget is one of the major means of achieving these ob-jectives.

The role of the legislature in the Budgeting Process

Recent events have brought to the fore the extent of the powers of the National Assembly with respect to the Budgeting process. Indeed many commentators, in-cluding Lawyers, have contended that the power of the National Assembly (NASS) is restricted to examining the Budget and making corrections where necessary. Some contend that the Appropriation power enables the National Assembly to reduce but not to increase expenditure and that it lacks power to introduce new items into the Budget. However, a close examination of the Constitution shows otherwise. Section 4 grants general law making powers to the National Assembly; Section 80, particularly 80(2); 80(3) and 80(4) are unambiguous. Funds cannot be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of the Federation or other Public Funds of the Federation without legislative approv-al and or authorization. The Constitution

process will involve the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other professional bodies. The National Assembly will benefit from the re-search skills of various CSOs and the technical expertise of professional bodies at the enactment stage of the Appropriation Bill. I am aware that many CSOs scrutinize the Budget yearly and usually point out areas of duplications and wastages. We need to institutionalize this mechanism;

xii. Amendment of Section 82 of the Constitution to reduce the time the previous year’s budget will con-tinue to run in the event that the Appropriation Act is not passed at the beginning of the Financial year from 6 months to 3 months as this distorts the Budget process;

xiii. A critical look should be taken at the operation of Financial Year as de-fined in S. 318 of the Constitution. A situation where an approved budget is not allowed to operate for 12 months is constitutionally un-acceptable. This is the main reason for failure of budget implementa-tion every year and the cause of abandoned projects that litter the Nigerian landscape. When projects are not completed, the nation is terribly shortchanged as the money and effort invested in it is lost. In this regard, we must institute a compul-sory mechanism that rolls over ma-jor projects that is not completed in one budget year into the following year’s budget. The current practice of not including on-going projects in the following year’s budget is a huge waste of resources;

xiv. I wish to draw attention to the exis-tence of the problem of lack of full disclosure of the appropriate size of the National budget and the actu-al revenue and expenditure of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It is recommended that the Executive should look into the possibility of having just one National Budget that captures the revenues and expendi-ture of all MDAs, such as NNPC, CBN and other revenue gener-ating government agencies. This should be included in the yearly Appropriation Bill. I must commend Mr. President for formally sending the Budget of these Agencies to the National Assembly this year. The budget of these agencies should not just be an ‘attachment’ to the Appropriation Act but an integral part of the National Budget.

House Budget reform Committee

It is as a result of all these observed anomalies and need for change and re-form that I recently announced that the House will set up a Budget Reform Committee to undertake a thorough and holistic review of all issues relating to the Budget to ensure due process, more transparency, better account-ability, openness and value for money. This Committee will comprise experts and professional organizations and will work in liaison with the Senate and the Executive branch.

Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, delivered this speech at the First Gallery

Colloquium on Budgetary Reforms con-vened by OrderPaper.ng on September 26,

2016 in Abuja

requires that all legitimate federal expen-diture must be in the MANNER pre-scribed by the National Assembly not by the Executive. It is our firm view that the word ‘manner’ used in S.80(4) connotes some form of discretion on the part of the National Assembly. Furthermore, S81(1) gives Mr. President authority to “cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year esti-mates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year”. The President submits mere estimates and not a budget as such because the Budget itself is a law which is an Act of the National Assembly and not that of the Executive. Section 81(2) provides that the estimates should be in heads of expenditure and included in an Appropriation Bill. Section 81 did not specifically say how the Appropriation Bill should be passed. It needs not say so since S.80 and S.4 had made elaborate provisions already. In any case, S.59 is specifically devoted to money bills and gives the National Assembly and not Mr. President final authority over passage of the bill into law. The Constitution did not envisage that the National Assembly shall be a rubber stamp on budgetary matters.

Those who contend that the National Assembly cannot increase the budget but can only reduce it are trying to im-port the British parliamentary law into a presidential system of government. In the British parliamentary system, the Crown has prerogative over money supply and the legislature is specifically prohibited from increasing the budget. It should be noted that the critical difference is that Parliament under a parliamentary sys-tem includes all the Ministers unlike the presidential system where the Ministers are not part of the National Assembly. It is therefore the decision of the Executive that carries the day in Parliament as the Ministers are also leaders of Parliament. This position is therefore justified on the basis of separation of powers which is inherent in a Presidential democracy as practiced in Nigeria. In addition, if the Constitution intended that the National Assembly should not have power to in-crease a budget item it should have said so. Nigeria’s budgeting system is clos-er to the model practiced in the United States of America, where Congress has authority to alter, increase, reduce or indeed introduce new budget items. Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution provides that: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of Appropriations made by law”. This provision is similar to Section 80 of the Nigerian Constitution. The prin-ciples disclosed are that First, All monies are paid into the USA Treasury and in the case of Nigeria, all Funds are paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund or other Public Funds of the Federation. Secondly, No money can be withdrawn from the Treasury of the United States of America except through Appropriation. In Nigeria, any withdrawal from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or other Public Funds of the Federation can only be made in pursuance of authorization of the National Assembly. ‘The framers of the US Constitution, mindful of “taxation without representation” suffered by colo-nists under the British crown, took care to specify in the Constitution that the ultimate power to tax and spend resides in the hands of the legislative branch - which is closer to the people - not the executive branch’.

‘The power of the purse is the most important power of Congress. James Madison in the Federalist Papers called it “the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people”. It checks the power of the President and gives Congress vast in-fluence over American society, because federal spending reaches into the life of every citizen. Under congressional di-rection, the government funds a nearly endless list of programs and activities.’ (‘Congress and Power of the Purse’ by Lee Hamilton, Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University).

This is also the position in Nigeria even though Mr. President initiates a money bill in Nigeria. Since 1921, the US President also initiates a money bill. This was achieved with The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 which requires the President to submit the budget to Congress for each fiscal year which is the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30 of the next calendar year. The current feder-al budget law in the USA (31 U.S.C. § 1105(a)) requires that the US President submit the budget between the first Monday in January and the first Monday in February.

By yAkUbU DogArA

Issues concerning the Budget and Budget process in Nigeria have been in the front-burner of public discourse for some time now. It is therefore a welcome opportunity for stakeholders to

discuss matters concerning the budget and it is in this regard that I wish to ap-preciate Orderpaper.ng, the conveners of this event tagged “Gallery Colloquium” with the theme: “Budget as a tool for accelerated Economic Development in Nigeria” for organizing this event. The theme of the colloquium is most apt and topical.

As is clearly evident, the Legislature is unquestionably at the heart of the budget process, not only in Nigeria but in all countries practicing Presidential Democracy. The legal framework for Budgetary process in Nigeria would be found in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) in Sections 4, 59, 80-82, and others. Some laws also have bearing on the matter, namely: Finance (Control and Management) Act, CAP F26, LFN 2004 and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007. Administrative Manuals and documents have also some bearing on budget matters. These in-clude, the Annual Budget Call Circular and Federal Government Financial Regulations. Judicial pronouncements is also a source of budget information and authority. For example, it was the Supreme Court decision in Attorney- General of Bendel State v. Attorney-General of the Federation that clarified the procedure for enactment of money bills, including the role and extent of the powers of the Joint Finance Committee of the National Assembly in the budget-ing process. The Procurement Act, 2007 has an impact especially with respect to actual budget implementation. While the Auditor General of the Federation and the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly play a major role in post budget scrutiny and audit.

The role of the Budget in Accelerated Economic Development

Mr. President is enjoined to provide an estimate of the revenues and expendi-ture of the federation which he prepares and lays before the National Assembly at any time in each financial year (S.81(1), CFRN). The Budget, in summary, is a compendium of “Who gets what, when and how”? It involves the allocation and distribution of available resources among competing sectors and demands. The Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution provides the philosophical basis that defines our budgeting process. It says in Section 16(2) that “The State shall direct its poli-cy towards ensuring: 16(2) (a). ‘The pro-motion of a planned and balanced eco-nomic development’ and 16(2) (b) ‘That the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as pos-sible to serve the common good’.

The annual budget is thus, the vehi-cle provided by law for the acquisition, allocation and distribution of resources for socio-economic development of the nation. The government makes critical

14 Steps to reform Nigeria’s Budgetary Process

Dogara

Dogara


PREAMBLE

The first edition of The Gallery Colloquium series was held on 26th September, 2016, at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, FCT, Abuja, with the theme “Budget as Tool for Accelerated Economic Development in Nigeria”.

The colloquium was organized with the aim of stirring up conversation on how the budgetary process in Nigeria can be reformed, especially after the budget padding drama which rocked the National Assembly. The event also served as the formal unveiling of Orderpaper.ng, Nigeria’s premier multi-platform media company dedicated to reporting, tracking and archiving activities of the legislature in the digital age.

Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, Governor of Sokoto State, chairman of the occasion, praised Orderpaper.ng for the foresight in putting the colloquium together to widen the scope of discussion on the budget process. He said the country needed to reform the budgetary process to make it lucid, inclusive, implementable and accessible to all Nigerians. He identified the problem of budget in Nigeria as lack of adequate planning. He called for the amendment of the constitution to ensure that the budget is submitted to the National Assembly at least three months to the end of the preceding financial year; and for a time limit to also be allotted to the legislature within which it must work on and return the budget to the President or Governor for assent.

The Distinguished Guest of Honour, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, in his presentation which touched on the legal framework for budgeting said the legislature was at the heart of that process.

Describing the budget as the legal framework for the distribution of the nation’s resources, he noted that the constitution did not envisage that the role of the National Assembly was just to rubber stamp the budget. He called for budget reforms and a review of the legal framework to ensure that the budget is submitted on time and also passed on time.

He said the House of Representatives has set up a Budget Reform Committee comprising of experts and professional bodies to review the problems associated with the budgeting process in Nigeria to ensure due process and accountability.

The keynote address by Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning (MBNP) who was represented by Mr. Kayode Obasa, Director of Economic Growth (MBNP), focused on Executive-Legislative consensus in developing a workable budget. He noted that because there are no generally accepted international best practices what was required is not who has what power but how to develop a practice and convention for the budgetary process that works for the country. He noted that what should be of importance to both the Executive and the Legislature is to work in the national interest so that Nigerians can have the best possible budget.

Mr. Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director at Centre for Social Justice (CENSOJ), who set the tone for discussion said consultation and collaboration between the Executive and Legislature should precede every budget process. He observed that the country puts more in the budget than its resources can accommodate; a practice he said should be discontinued.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, CFR, Deputy President of the

Senate, formally presented OrderPaper.ng to the public. He described the newspaper as timely and commended the publishers for taking the bold step to address the lack of knowledge about the workings of the National Assembly. He also spoke about the need to have public hearings on the budget as the usual budget defence by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) cannot make up for incisive public participation in the process.

The panel discussion on the theme, “Budget as a tool for Accelerated Economic Development in Nigeria” was anchored by Mr. Anthony Ubani, CEO, Africa Leadership Advantage. The panelists included: Sen. John Enoh, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance; Sen. Shehu Sani, Chairman, Senate Committee on Domestic & Foreign Debts. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts; Hon. Lawal Garba, Chairman, House Committee on Constituency Outreach; Sen. Chris Anyanwu, member of the 6th and 7th Senate; Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher, Premium Times; Victor Muruako, Acting Chairman Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC); and Imoni Amarere, Managing Director, News Services, Daar Communications.

Panelists touched on the following issues amongst others: timeliness of the budget; the role of media, civil society, development partners, and private sector in the budgetary process; inclusiveness of the budgetary process; budget monitoring and implementation; and how the Executive and Legislature can harmoniously work together to deliver on a budget that serves the interest of the majority of citizens.

RESOLUTIONSAfter an engaging session flowing from rich presentations and discussions, the following far-reaching recommendations were made:

1. That timeliness of budget presentation is very important. That the Executive and Legislature should adopt a more participatory budgeting process by widely consulting with the citizens and other stakeholders through public hearings.

2. That a formal forum for pre-budget consultations and liaison between the Legislature and the Executive should be created in order to reduce the instances of disagreements and bickering between the two arms upon presentation of the Appropriation bill, passage and subsequent implementation.

3. That the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) should be adopted as a benchmark for determining what projects to be included in the budget which should be equitably spread across the country.

4. That provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act should be strictly adhered to in the preparation and implementation of the budget whilst a holistic look at the Act should be considered to take care of observed deficiencies.

5. That there should be effective tracking of projects and evaluation of budget expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability whilst the role of anti-corruption agencies in the budgetary process clearly defined and enhanced.

6. Multi-stakeholder consultations including the private sector, development partners and the media should be undertaken for the budgetary process

7. The media and civil society should improve their watchdog roles in monitoring the budgetary process.

8. Reform of the procedures of budgeting in the National Assembly to ensure better accountability, transparency and openness.

9. Making a budget law to cover the processes and procedures of the budgetary exercise with strengthening legislative oversight being a key focus.

10. That the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) should be established without further delay

11. The colloquium commended OrderPaper.ng for convening the conversation at such auspicious time in the country’s history and urged all stakeholders to continue to support the initiative

12. The colloquium recommended continual engagement of relevant stakeholders and to report on gains made with respect to the implementation of resolutions above.

CONCLUSION• Thebudgetremainsacriticaltoolforsocialandeconomic

engineering of the country;

• It is therefore important to get it right and make itinclusive to ensure transparency and accountability;

• Thebudget isnot thepropertyof theExecutiveor theLegislature; therefore, there is need for active multi-stakeholder involvement in the budget process.

Goodwill remarks were made by Rt. Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, and Senator Ita Enang, SSA to the President National Assembly Matters.

In attendance were notable members of the NationalAssembly and State Houses of Assembly, representatives of MDAs, members of the Civil Society Organizations, Development Partners, Diplomatic Community, Private Sector, Academia and the Media.

Content of this communique was read out to the Colloquium for observations and corrections before it was unanimously adopted by the gathering.

Signed:

Oke Epia, Convener/Publisher, OrderPaper.ng

Anthony Ubani, Moderator of Panel Session

Chido Onumah, Head, Team of Rapporteurs

September 26, 2016

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THE ANNUAL GALLERY COLLOQUIUM SERIES ORGANIZED BY ORDERPAPER.NG,

HELD AT THE LADI KWALI HALL, SHERATON HOTEL, FCT ABUJA, ON MONDAY, 26TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2016

Opinion Article

recommendations to the Legislature to avoid litigations

(b) Can the Legislature or her Committees conduct investigative hearing and recommend, adopt en-forceable resolutions on matters which ought to be handled by the judiciary, or on matters outside her legislative com-petence?

(c) What are the views of the courts on same?

For ease of reference, is shall repro-duce the questions hereunder.

The FIRST principal question is: When a bill has been passed the legisla-ture in session: State House of Assembly or National Assembly, can the legal draftsman or Clerk of the Assembly re-draft, add, edit, clean, or in any manner alter the bill different from what is re-flected in the Votes and Proceedings or the Hansard of the legislative house in certifying to the President or Governor for Assent for bill to become law un-der the Acts Authentication Act? My Answer is in the negative.

ANSWER TO THE FIRST PRINCIPAL QUESTION:

There is the common practice that after Bills may have been passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, the legal department now re-drafts the Bill, perhaps chang-ing certain words to give it a presen-tation in a legal draftsmen’s perfect legislative draft. This in my view is inconsistent with the provisions of the law.

An example is found in Clause 1 (iii) of Senate Votes and Proceedings (1) of Wednesday, 23rd March, 2016 which states,

“No part of the amount afore-said shall be released from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation after the end of the year

mentioned in subsection (1) of this sec-tion without prejudice to clause of the Bill.”

In drafting, the Management add-ed “without prejudice to clause of the Bill.” (Emphasis mine to indicate the inclusion which was not part of what was passed at plenary as contained in the Votes and Proceedings) but included in the Bill certified by the Clerk to Mr. President for assent.

The Bill passed, as passed, is re-flected in the Votes and Proceedings and any drafting that introduces even a comma, or full stop or indeed the wordings that makes the certified dif-ferent from what is contained in the votes as passed on the floor contami-nates and makes it devoid of what was passed in plenary on the authority of the MACE in session. This practice appears age-long in Nigeria, and to my knowledge from 1999-2016.

The solution would be to attach a legal draftsman to every committee or Bill so that the perfection in drafting or cleaning could be done by draftsman before it is considered in committee of the whole. And for a Bill that that has differences and is committed to confer-ence of the House and Senate, it should be done at the stage of the Conference Committee. This will ensure greater details and depth in the legislator when Bills are being considered in committee of whole and will give the legislator the “ownership” of the Act when assented to.

2011 Evidence ActThis is also important because un-

der the Evidence Act, 2011, s….122….the courts are to take Judicial Notice of laws passed, so the Votes and Proceedings are authentic represen-tation of the law as passed, as well as, in addition to the Hansard, a docu-ment from which the intention of the

legislature could be inferred when the court is in dilemma as to the interpre-tation of an Act of Parliament in course of adjudication.

SECOND QUESTIONThe Legislature is to pass the Bill

into the Law and a Bill includes the Schedule, except where the Legislature reserves in the Board or principal offi-cer of the Commission the function of making subsidiary Legislation, which will be published at the end of the en-abling Act upon Re-issue of Publication thereof in an issuing gazette. As a stan-dard practice since 1999, the National Assembly in plenary will consider and pass the Appropriation Bill, but the de-tails, referred to as “the Schedule” are often left to be worked on and forward-ed to the ministries by the Chairmen of the Appropriation Committees. This is against the provisions of the Constitution, because at that stage the schedule is not passed by the National Assembly.

Under the Acts Authentication Act, it is only that which is passed by the National Assembly that can be certified by the Clerk to the National Assembly. The Act provides in section 1 (2), 2 (1)(2)(3) and 3(1) as follows:

Section 1(2) “This Act shall ap-ply to all laws passed by the National Assembly after the coming into opera-tion of this Act.”

“Section 2(1) “The Clerk of the National Assembly shall forthwith after enactment, prepare a copy of each Bill as passed by both Houses of the National Assembly embodying all amendments agreed to, and shall endorse on the Bill and sign a certificate that the copy has been prepared as prescribed by this sec-tion and is a true copy of that Bill.

(2) the Clerk of the National Assembly shall as from time to time directed by the President of the Senate prepare a Schedule of Bills passed at any time during a session and intended to be presented for assent; and shall certify on the Schedule that it is a true and correct record.

(3) the schedule shall set forth the long title of a Bill and a summary of its contents and the respective dates on which each Bill passed each house of the National Assembly; and subject to the provisions of this section, when signed by the Clerk of the National Assembly the certificate shall be conclusive for all purposes, and if a Bill in the schedule is one to which section 58(5) or 55(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Act, 1999 applies, the schedule shall, in addition, be endorsed with pre-scribed certificate of the President of the Senate in respect of that Bill.”

Again section 62(3) & 4 of the 1999 Constitution provides:

“(3) The Senate and the House of Representatives shall appoint a joint

by Sen. (Dr.) itA enAng

After my 3 terms of cu-mulative 12 years in the House of Representatives (1999-2011) and 4 years in

the Senate, His Excellency President, Muhammadu Buhari graciously ap-pointed me as SSA to the President on National Assembly Senate in August, 2015. And it is on this platform that I want us to consider what I consider as fresh perspectives in legislative prac-tice.

The FIRST principal question is: When a bill has been passed by the legislature in session: State House of Assembly or National Assembly, can the legal draftsman or Clerk of the Assembly re-draft, add, edit, clean, or in any manner alter the bill differ-ent from what is reflected in the Votes and Proceedings or the Hansard of the legislative House in certifying to the President or Governor for Assent for bill to become law under the Acts Authentication Act? My answer is in the negative. If this happens, what is the status of such law and the remedy of the legislative community?

The SECOND principal question is: Can the legislature be said to have passed an Appropriation Bill or any bill at all when it passes the body or Principal or indeed the frame of the Act but leaves the schedule-the detail in the case of the Appropriation Act, to be worked on by the Committees of Appropriations of Senate and House of representatives in the case of the National Assembly or by indeed by the chairman of the committees. The ANSWER is in the NEGATIVE.

Can the schedule to a bill, in this case the Appropriations details which is not contained in the votes and pro-ceedings of a legislative house, passed in the plenary or committee of sup-ply and certified by the Clerk to the National Assembly or of the State House of Assembly as such be said to have been passed by the Assembly and can be enforceable as a law?

Can a legislator: Senate President, Speaker of the House of representatives or speaker of a State House of Assembly or Chairman of a committee, in this case Chairmen of Appropriation Committees, FCT, Niger Delta, Communications, Land Transport, among several others sign or in any manner certify the budgets of the Agencies under their oversight jurisdic-tions under the Acts (Authentication) Act in addition to or independent of the Clerk, to the National Assembly or the State House of Assembly ? I again ANSWER in the NEGATIVE.

Can the legislature delegate to her committees the power vested in her to make laws and send it out as the act of the legislative body?

In making laws have the legislators shown industry and legal research while debating bills at second reading and can their contributions be refer-enced in the future in the Hansard as done in the records of reputable legisla-tures of the world?

(a) What are the preliminary steps in preparing for investigative/public hearings within the confines of the constitution to produce compliant

Why Appropriation Committees Cannot Sign off on the Budget

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Enang


Chairman, House of representatives Committee on Army, mr. rimande Shawulu Kwewum, Chief Whip, mr. Parly Iriase and amember, mr. onawu mohammed ogoshi, during a public hearing

l-r: Director, Internal Control, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), mary Uduk, Director General, mounir Gwarzo and Executive Commissioner, Corporate Service, Zakawanu Garba, during an interactive session with the House of representatives Committee on Capital market

r-l- Chairman, House of representatives Committee on Commerce, mr. Sylvester ogbaga, Chairman, House of representatives Committee on Ethics and Privilege, mr. ossai Nicolas ossai and a member of the committee, mr. Solomon Bulus maren, during the public hearing on a Bill for an Act to provide for Secures Transactions, registration and regulation of Security Interest in movable Assets and for related matters 2016

l-r: Chairman, House of representatives Committee on Works, Toby okechukwu, Chairman, Technical Committee for the review of roads Fund Bills , Engr. Chris okoye, Deputy Chairman of the Committee,mr. Amuda-Kannike and a member, muhammed Ali Wudil during the inaugural meeting of the committee

-l-r: Chairman, House Committee on Investigation of the activities oF Federally owned Development Finance Institutions, mr. Emeka Anohu, Deputy Speaker House of representatives, mr. Yusuf lasun, and a member of the committee, mr. Chukwuemeka Ujam during the inauguration of the committee

members of #oCCUPYNASSUNlTD protesting at the main gate of National Assembly over alleged corruption in the budget process and calling for the scrapping of the senate in Abuja

l-r: member House of representatives for Aba North/South Federal Constituency, mr.. Prestige ossy, Edo State Deputy Governor, mr. Philip Shaibu and member representing Akoko Edo Federal Constituency, mr. Peter Akpatason, during a visit by the Deputy Governor to the National Assembly

r-l: Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), mr. Yakubu Gambo; managing Director, NIGComSAT, mrs. Abimbola Alale; and General manager, Accounts and Finance (NIGComSAT), mr. Bello Shehu malami, during an investigative hearing on insurance payments by ministries Department and Agencies (mDAs)

l-r President, Nigeria Hockey Federation, Sen. Abdul Ningi, Vice President, Nigeria olympic Committee and President, Nigeria Basketball Federation, mr. Tijani Umar and Secretary General, Nigeria olympic Committee mr. Tunde Popoola, during an interactive meeting between the House of representatives Committee on Sports and ministry of Youths and Sports Development and other Agencies over the Budget 2016 Performance review

members of Islamic movement of Nigeria (Shiites) staging a protest to call for the release of their detained leader, Ibraheem Zakzaky at National Assembly

Why Appropriation Committees Cannot Sign off on the Budget

BackroomBureau

successor to Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori who had stepped up to become the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA). By Thursday of same week, precisely on September 15, he was out of office. What happened? Was he removed? Was he status-barred from continuing in office? This is the story of power and politics of the National Assembly bureaucracy.

On September 8, the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) announced the appointment Mr. Basil as substantive Clerk of the lower legislative chamber. He was until the announcement, acting Clerk and had served as Deputy to Sani-Omolori. The letter conveying the confirmation of Basil’s elevation and addressed to him, read: “I am writing to inform you that the National Assembly Service Commission has at its 445th meeting held on Thursday 8th September 2016, approved your appointment as Clerk to the House of Representatives. The appointment takes effect from 31st August 2016. The appointment which

was based on the recommendation of the Clerk to the National Assembly is in recognition of your hard work, dedi-cation to duty and responsible conduct as well as loyalty to the leadership of the National Assembly. It is therefore ex-pected that you will continue to justify the confidence reposed in you by the Commission and the leadership of the National Assembly. Please accept my warmest congratulations.”

Notice that Basil’s appointment was retroactive. That was a service benefit contrived and bestowed by Omolori. Insiders say the CNA in his recommen-dation had also advised that Basil be allowed to function in his new portfo-lio in spite of the fact that he was due for pre-retirement leave by September. (And if Service Rules were to be strictly followed, he would have been required to turn in his leave letter accordingly.) In other words, the freshly appointed Clerk was made to have a working leave till the three months when he was offi-cially due to bow out of service. All was fine and well for Basil to enjoy the allure

of his elevated office until the end of his career and retire with all the benefits his new status conferred. But unfortunate-ly, he became enamoured by the allure in a manner that turned detrimental. Mr. Basil began to misstep hastily; the newly crowned clerk moved to swiftly appropriate power in a manner that offended the sensibilities of the powers that be in the National Assembly.

Those who know told ORDERPAPERTODAY that one of those missteps was a ‘rush’ to move into the office space of the Clerk, House of Representatives. He reportedly or-dered that the office be prepared for his use even when it seemed the space was “not yet ready for his use.” He had also begun to target committee clerks he deemed not loyal to him: accordingly, feelers soon spread within the bureau-cracy that a new set of favourites was emerging. A source told this newspaper that names of Basil’s loyalists had been compiled for top posting within the House bureaucracy. These signals got to the CNA whose structure built over the years had suddenly come under threat of liquidation. Mr. Basil also got on the wrong side of political authorities in the House. (He may have over-esti-mated the weight of his political anchor embodied in a principal officer who incidentally, was his representative in the House.) There was an instance of Basil getting overruled by the Speaker with respect to placement of certain items on the order paper of a particular plenary session. That was after he had been advised by the Chairman, Rules and Business Committee, Emmanuel Oker-Jev. All of these presented signs to observers and powers-that-be in the House that Basil’s tenure would be characterized by power-mongering. He also apparently forgot that his ten-ure was short and at the behest of the CNA, who expectedly, would watch idly by whilst his legacies and loyalists become prey to his successor’s antics. Insiders say the CNA swiftly moved to halt a looming discontent in the House bureaucracy. And he was brutal in the way he went about it.

Omolori, according to inside sourc-es, summoned Basil and briskly de-manded that he turned in his letter of pre-retirement leave. For full effect, he gave an ultimatum of Thursday September 15 for compliance. When the directive had yet to be complied with by the morning of the deadline, the CNA reportedly detailed a Director with a stern message to the embattled Clerk: if by close of work that Thursday the letter had not been turned in, he (Basil) would be prevented from access-ing the office by the next day. Deflated and defeated, the Clerk sent in his let-ter of retirement leave. He packed his belongings from the much-coveted but briefly occupied office space. And that was how Basil effectively exited the Service of the National Assembly. Luckily for him however, he would be entitled to the full compliments of a re-tired substantive Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The bureaucracy of the leg-islature is hardly immune from the fluid political tides which guide the actions

and/or inactions of legislators. Even though bureaucrats or civil servants in Parliament are demanded by Service Rules to be apolitical they must at the least stay sensitive to the political envi-ronment as dictated both by Members of Parliament and commanding hier-archy of the bureaucracy itself.

This was a vital survival skill Mr. Edhere Uzezi Basil, immediate past Clerk of the House of Representatives seemed to have ignored or was igno-rant of. That is one reason he would go down in the history of the National Assembly as the Clerk who served the shortest time in office. He was barely a week on the saddle when he bowed out. In fact, for practical purposes, he served the House as defacto Clerk for just three days. On Tuesday, September 13, 2016 Mr. Basil was introduced to the House in plenary by Speaker Yakubu Dogara as the new Clerk and substantive

BASIl: The 3-Day Clerk of the House of reps

committee on finance consisting of an equal number of persons appointed by each House and may appoint other joint committee un-der the provisions of this section.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be con-strued as authorizing such House to delegate to a committee the power to decide whether a bill shall be passed into law or to determine any matter which it is empowered to deter-mine by resolution under the provisions of this Constitution, but the committee may be authorized to make recommendations to the House on any such matter.”

By the authority of section 62(4) above, the National Assembly cannot delegate to her Committee on Appropriation, Land Transport, FCT, and all other Committees the power to pass the schedule to the Federal Appropriation or the schedules thereof that are to be considered and passed by her. And

the Chairmen of those Committees cannot and should not append their signatures to any documents that goes out to the public, except the document to be laid on the table or considered on the floor, and immediately that is considered on the floor, It is the sig-nature and certification by the Clerk to the National Assembly or the state House of Assembly that is recognized and lawful un-der the Acts (Authentication) Act and not that of a legislator.

Again, it was to address situation that, a Chairman of the Standing Orders Reviews Committee under Rt. Hon. Masari’s speak-ership and again, in 2007 under Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Etteh’s speakership that I and my colleague committee members introduced a proviso to the procedure on Bills in Order 16 Rule 7 Standing Order 2003, repeated in year 2007 as such. This is now Order 12 Rule 19(8) on page 75 of the Standing Orders of

the House of Representatives, reprinted 23rd March 2016. (the current and operative standing orders ) came to be. It states:

Order 12 Rule 19(8) “The clauses of an Appropriation Bill or a Supplementary Appropriation Bill shall stand postponed until after the consideration of any sched-ule to such Bill. Provided that before the passage of the Appropriation Bill, the details of the Budget (Compendium and Schedule) shall be presented on the floor of the House along with the Appropriation Bill”

Adherence to this provision would have addressed some trending issues in Federal Legislation. And I strongly so recommend.

Excerpts of keynote address delivered by Sen. Enang, SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters, at the 2016 Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Annual

General Conference held in Port Harcourt

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Sani-omoloriBasilDogara

Nass Photo Roundup by Remi Richard


OntheSpot

OntheSpot

members that have been guiding activ-ities on the floor and committees have brought some difference in the activities of the 8th National Assembly.

What about the leadership? What impacts has it made compared to the last assembly?

I think the leadership of the 7th as-sembly had a great leadership especial-ly in the persons of Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and EmekaIhedioha- two great persons that piloted the House. Although there were problems between the Executive and Legisture because of the manner in which they came in. even though the current Speaker came in same manner he has been able to integrate others to lower the tension in the House and the harmony that exists today is a great one; Dogara is a focused leader and visionary. And hav-ing known the mistakes of the past and been part of the House since the 6th Assembly I think with those experienc-es he has been able to define how his leadership has to be.

What is the highlight of your

asking for favours- school fees, payment for rents; burials- nobody talked about ‘please introduce this bill or this policy.’ It shows that our people do not know exactly what the work of the legislator is otherwise they won’t be asking for such. We don’t have budget that we control from which we can give jobs and favours to people. So if how a senator is judged is how much favour he gives to his con-stituents then we are not yet getting it right. But unfortunately that is the case- how many people you paid their school fees, house rents and all that- that is the parameters they use to judge a success-ful senator. Of course I give whatever is in my capacity to give and have always done so even before I became a senator anyway. But the people now ask more because they believe it is their right and because of the economic situation in the country it makes matters worse. But we have to keep doing what we have to do as long as God continues to bless us.

How do rate the leadership style and performance of Senate President Saraki?

I believe Senator Saraki is the Senate President Nigeria needs for this time. I will say for this time because for the first time in the history of democracy in Nigeria, the opposition took over pow-er. And the Senate has been the stabi-lizer that we have not felt the impact of a very aggressive opposition; he could relate with the PDP (maybe because of his history with them) and also relate with us (APC members). For instance in the history of ministerial screening, we

participation in the 1st year of this 8th assembly?

I have churned out a lot of Bills. The robust debate that took place on the Appropriation Bill was a remarkable contribution by the entire House and the Sectorial Debates were highlights of the House that have transformed the image of the House into a different level. There is also the interaction between the leadership and other organs of govern-ment in resolving issues amicably has also defined the 8th assembly.

In what ways have the change of political party status impacted on this assembly given that we now reversal of roles with PDP as opposition party unlike being the majority party in the previous assembly?

Party lines are hardly noticed in the National Assembly because we try to build national consensus; we don’t re-ally focus on party issues; we are more concerned with the integrity of the legislature as an organ of government. Change of guards hardly defines the as-sembly; we think alike. People want to

had 100% success without any financial gratification. The story we used to hear before is that before a minister is cleared there must have been exchanges of gha-na-must-go; this time we did not even hear of anyone offered or demanding. So that is a major achievement of this 8th Senate.

As a blue blood do you have any difficulties in public service like you talked about your phone numbers be-ing exposed to the world by Sahara re-porters?

That is part of the exposure one would get in the business that we are in- politics. That was the minimum ex-posure one could get anyway- we cam-paigned all over the six local govern-ment areas that make up my senatorial district; there is no exposure that is more than that. I have been trying to get to the Senate for the past 12 years – I started with Mr. President. We were contest-ing elections together; failing together and we succeeded together at the same time. So we have been exposed for years. I was the chairman of CPC convention in 2011 and I raised Gen. Buhari’s hand as candidate then. I have been attacked before in 2006 when I was contesting against Iyabo Obasanjo.

What should your constituents look forward to from you going forward?

We have to be practical. The prob-lems of our constituents today are that of food, water, power and other basic in-frastructures. And then to be supported financially. That is the present problem they want us to attend to. But as we do

impact their constituents and when you think that way it doesn’t really change the mood and architecture of the House.

Are you constituents happy and impressed with your representation so far?

I will say yes. You know there are three legs of the legislative work- in terms of the law-making process I think they are happy as the image of the Ukwani and Ndokwa people has been projected into national limelight. It gives me a lot of prestige when people call me an Ukwani man; people now recognize my people in the midst of ma-jority ethnic groups. Secondly in terms of representation, people want money and empowerment. I cannot say I can achieve that completely but in terms of consultations I do pretty well and they do recognize that but oftentimes people say they need money. And in order to help I do a lot of registration of coopera-tives for my people to integrate them to access funds. That also motivated me to sponsor a Bill on Secured Transactions and Collateral Registry where you can access funds using movable assets; that can benefit my people a lot; a lot of them are artisans and farmers. With your furniture in the house you can walk to the bank and register and access some funds to bolster your farming business and get more income. Thirdly, you know my people are from the oil-producing areas where the land has been degraded and the multi-national companies have so much dehumanized the people to the extent that corporate social responsi-bility never existed and that motivated me to do a research in my Ph.D and I felt it is not enough to contribute to the body of knowledge but also make sure there is an instrument of law that can compel the companies to address those lingering problems of degradation in the communities. It is in this light that I sponsored the Bill on Corporate Social Responsibility that has passed second reading and public hearing with lots of commendation. I believe that if those things are actualized and those laws passed it can address lots of the prob-lems of my people and at the end of the day when they see the problems being addressed, they will be happy with me.

How do you relax and unwind?You know there is this adage that

when a white man wants to hide some-thing from a black man he puts it in a book. I read. That is one of my hobbies and as an academician, I read voracious-ly with an analytical mind.

what we can we also try to educate them to know that we are not in charge of the budget. But they ask us to do the impos-sible- we should build roads, schools. We can appeal to the governors and federal authorities and local government chair-men to do most of the things they are asking for. Even the constituency proj-ects they talk about; all we do is to send to a location that we want the projects; it is the Executive that will go and do it; we never touch one kobo. So our people need to be educated on this.

How much do senators earn?From the documents given to us,

we earn less than one million naira a month- about seven hundred and nine-ty-something thousand a month. That is what we earn. You can now say the mon-ey they give you to maintain your office is your salary; it is not your salary. Even civil servants after salary they get money for fuel, maintaining the office and so on. Take for example- I have about 120 institutions under me- teaching hospi-tals, federal medical centres all over the country and we have to visit them from time to time to see how they are im-plementing the budget. How do we get there? Who is going to pay for it? If you want to be a good oversight are you go-ing to ask them to pay for you to come? If that happens what are you then over-sighting? Because you will be biased as he who pays the piper dictates the tune. So these are allowances to run the office that is not even enough. Is that what you are calling my salary? Let us not shy away from the reality.

What would you say has marked this 8th National Assembly separately from the previous one you were a part of?

I think the agenda are different- the previous 7th assembly had a more radi-cal approach to issues; this one is mod-erate and more structured. Why do I say more structured is because for the first time the National Assembly is debating on sectoral basis- inviting ministers to throw more light on policies that define the current APC Government to make members more acquainted so as to in-tegrate their constituencies to be part of the policies of government. Another de-fining factor of this 8th assembly is the inauguration of a committee on Code of Conduct that produced a code for the House- a code that can guide the behav-ior and activities of members. It com-pletely defines the 8th assembly. And the House to churn out 84 bills, passed in the first one year is by no means a big achievement different from the 7th assembly. And don’t forget coupled with the presence of very experienced

As a first term member, what are the highlights of your participation in the 8th Senate thus far?

Our expectation before getting to the Senate is the opposite of what we found on arrival. In the last one year plus you know it has been a very peculiar period as the assignments we are supposed to have focused on more- bills, policies and so on – we were distracted from them. Rather we were focused on political and leadership problems, trying to get the institution stabilized. So we had to ex-press our wisdom individually to ensure that whilst the leadership problem was going on we still had to ensure that we promote the interests of our constituents somehow. For me, being chairman of a ‘Grade A’ committee as a first time sena-tor is some achievement; at least my peo-ple are proud of that position which is for them because I am representing them. And we have discharged our mandate in this regard quite creditably; for example on the issue of budget scrutiny and over-sight- if you remember during the 2016 budget defence it was our committee that discovered about 4billion naira the Minister of Health did not know about which some people put there. And that was the beginning of the padding saga.

How did you feel when a news web-site (Saharareporters) published the telephone numbers of NASS members?

Well, it comes with the territory al-though that was the first time public servants would be exposed in that way. In a day, I was receiving up to 500 texts and phone calls and 95% of them were

lanre Tejuoso is Chairman, Senate Committee on Health who is having his first stint as Senator after 12 years of failing elections. A Prince of the dynasty of His royal majesty, oba Dr. Adedapo Tejuoso, CoN, Karunwi III, oranmiyan, osile of oke-ona Egba and olori Adetoun Tejuoso, he represents ogun Central in the red Chamber. In this interview conducted for #NASSreportCard Series, Sen. Tejuoso talks about a range of issues. Excerpts:

Senators Don’t Receive a Kobo for Constituency Projects –Tejuoso

I read Voraciously in my Spare Time

– ossai

ossai Nicholas ossai is a two-term member of the House of representatives representing Ndokwa West/Ukwuani/Ndokwa East federal constituency of Delta State. This vibrant legislator chairs the Committee on Ethics and Privileges which is like the ombudsman of the lower chamber. He granted this interview for the #NASSreportCard Series. Excerpts:


BillsBoard

Special Economic Zones in Nigeria, with about 14 being operational. Some of the notable ones are Tinapa Free Zone and Resort, Kano Free Trade Zone and Lekki Free Zone.

A close examination of the Nigerian Industrial Development and Zones Commission Bill reveals that it introduc-es new sections to fortify the enabling law, while retaining some salient provi-sions of the NEPZA law. Some highlights of the bill include Section 1, which estab-lishes a new authority to be known as the Nigerian Industrial Development and Zones Commission with the mandate to promote development in the Free Zones and industrial hubs within the country. A new subsection 3 is introduced to confer the Commission with the sole au-thority to license and regulate SEZs.

Section 3 of the bill categorizes the licensing of SEZs into ‘Free Zones’ and ‘Other Special Economic Zones’. Free Zones refer to a designated area of land outside Customs control, where goods are exempted from import duties, tax-es and incorporation requirements. While Other Special Economic Zones refer to designated area of land within the Customs territory but only given specific fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, access control and infrastructural sup-port as determined by the Commission. Subsection 2 further categorizes the licensing of SEZs according to Sector (Agro processing, Oil and Gas, Aviation Zones, etc), Purpose and Scale of Zones.

Also, the Commission is conferred by section 5 with exclusive responsibili-ty to administer regulations on issues of corporate registry, land registry and in-ternational finance and banking. Section 10 of the bill provides that approved en-terprises operating within a Free Zone shall be granted fiscal incentives and exempted from Federal, State and Local Government taxes, levies and rates as will be determined by the Commission. Section 15 stipulates that payment for goods and services transacted between the Free Zone and the Custom territory shall be made in foreign currency. This implies that although raw material and goods can be imported into the Zones free from Customs duty, payment for them shall be made in foreign currency. This is intended to boost local trade and enhance foreign exchange earnings by encouraging local sourcing and supply of raw material and component items in-tended to be used in the Free Zones.

The SEZ investment model has proved an effective means of driving economic growth when properly imple-mented. Countries in East Asia; China, Singapore, South Korea have reaped its benefits. China especially, is the most successful country to have achieved economic transformation by leveraging on SEZs. China in 1980 experimented with four locations designated as SEZs and immediately witnessed exponential growth. Due to its successes, by March 2013 there were no less than 191 SEZs in

Special Economic Zone is a geographi-cally delineated area which enjoys special trade laws and regulations distinct from the rest of the country. It is important to mention that ‘Special Economic Zone’ is the generic term for all variants of Free Zones and may include Free Trade Zones, Export Processing Zones, Oil and Gas Export Free Zone and Industrial Parks, etc. Business operators within the designated areas are usually granted ex-emptions from taxes, duties, quotas, cus-toms inspection and even labour regula-tions. The aim is to lure foreign investors in to grow the local economy through trade, manufacturing and job creation.

The idea of SEZ is not particular-ly new. It has since been adopted by advanced countries around the world to accelerate their economic growth. But it was introduced into Nigeria in 1992 by the then military government, with the promulgation of Nigerian Export Processing Zone Decree. The Decree regulated the creation of Export Processing Zones across the country for export oriented manufacturing in the non-oil sector. Subsequently in 1996, the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Decree was promulgated to exclusively cover oil and gas related activities and was lo-cated at the Onne/Ikpokri area of Rivers State. As at today however, there are 33

China. It was reported in 2010 that SEZs were responsible for about 22 percent of national GDP, 46 percent of Foreign Direct Investment, 60 percent of exports and generated in excess of 30 million jobs. The success of SEZ in these coun-tries encouraged other developing na-tions to adopt the model. However, the results have not been all rosy for the lat-ter-day economies such as India, Nigeria and some other Sub-Sahara African countries.

It is quite unfortunate that 23 years after the scheme was introduced, Nigeria is yet to harness its economic potentials. The failure of the SEZ model has been attributed to poor infrastructure, lack of commitment by the federal government, rigid and outdated laws, failure to adapt the scheme to domestic peculiarities and inconsistent government policies among others. The vision of Nigeria becoming one of the leading economies cannot be achieved if the industrial sector is not revamped. No country can ever grow its economy by relying on imports, while merely exporting raw materials without a robust manufacturing base. Nigeria has to take the bold step of shifting away from reliance on foreign aid and loans to facilitating favourable trade relations with other advanced economies through industrialization. Foreign investment has to be courted and wooed as there are other markets competing for the same investors. Nigeria with her huge market and voracious consumer appetite has what it takes to persuade investors to take advantage of the Special Economic Zones scheme. But such potential must be backed with proper legislation and commitment.

With the current economic reces-sion facing the country, the National Assembly and Mr. President are im-plored to treat the National Industrial Development and Zones Commission Bill, 2016, with all sense of urgency. The bill when passed into law will provide the necessary support to the federal government in its drive to revamp the nation’s economy through accelerated industrialization. This will in turn lead to the creation of jobs and ultimately generate wealth for the country. Beyond an effective legislation however, the fed-eral government needs to draw on the useful lessons and experiences of China and other countries with successful SEZ programmes. The federal government should not only focus on tax incentives but also put efforts on improving the business environment and infrastruc-ture. Equally important is the fact that the SEZ model is not a one size fits all, the federal government should adopt a development model that is best suited for our local comparative and competi-tive advantage.

(N.B Copy of the NIDZC Bill 2016 can be downloaded from OrderPaper.ng)

The Nigeria Industrial Development and Zones Commission Bill, 2016, is one of the critical pieces of legis-

lation necessary for the much-needed industrialization and diversification of the Nigerian economy. The bill seeks to update and strengthen the enabling law to address the present-day challenges of Free Zone operation. The bill aims to repeal the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) Act 63 of 1992 and in turn establish the Nigerian Industrial Development and Zones Commission as the exclusive regulatory agency responsible for licensing, mon-itoring and regulating Free Zones in Nigeria. The bill also seeks to consolidate all other subsidiary legislations into a sin-gle law. The bill is sponsored by Senator Fatimat Raji Rasak, Chairperson, Senate Committee on Trade and Investment. It has presently passed second reading in the red chambers and has been referred to Committee for further consideration.

With the global slump in price of crude oil and the dwindling fortunes of oil revenue, the Federal government of Nigeria is beginning to look inwards to reassess the many neglected potentials and opportunities to further diversify its economy. One of such is the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) scheme. A

NIDZC BIll: Empowering Buhari’s Economic Diversification Bid

Senator Fatimat raji rasak

*Ndugbu is a legislative consultant and specialist in legal drafting and bill analysis

for OrderPaper.ng. He can be reached at [email protected]; 08033361319

orDErPAPErToDAY ADVERT RATE

SIZE RATE 5% VAT AMT + VATFPC 409,500.00 20,475.00 429,975.00HPC 233,415.00 11,670.75 245,085.75QTER 125,716.50 6,285.83 132,002.3314X5 397,215.00 19,860.75 417,075.7514X4 317,772.00 15,888.60 333,660.6014X2 158,886.00 7,944.30 166,830.30FPS 6X3 671,835.94 33,591.80 705,427.74FPS 6X2 447,890.63 22,394.53 470,285.16BPS 6X3 652,640.63 32,632.03 685,272.66BPS 6X2 435,093.75 21,754.69 456,848.44ROP 2X6 152,382.01 7,619.10 160,001.11FPS 2X6 447,890.63 22,394.53 470,285.16BPS 2X6 435,093.75 21,754.69 456,848.4413X5 368,842.50 18,442.13 387,284.6313X2 126,749.88 6,337.49 133,087.3711X5 312,097.51 15,604.88 327,702.3811X4 285,342.06 14,267.10 299,609.1611X2 107,249.90 5,362.49 112,612.3910X6 389,025.00 19,451.25 408,476.2510X5 324,252.34 16,212.62 340,464.9610X4 259,401.87 12,970.09 272,371.9610X3 194,551.41 9,727.57 204,278.9810X2 101,415.24 5,070.76 106,486.009X6 350,122.50 17,506.13 367,628.639X5 291,827.10 14,591.36 306,418.469X4 233,461.68 11,673.08 245,134.779X3 161,635.50 8,081.77 169,717.278X6 311,282.25 15,564.11 326,846.368X5 259,401.87 12,970.09 272,371.968X4 207,521.50 10,376.07 217,897.578X3 143,693.55 7,184.68 150,878.238X2 95,786.12 4,789.31 100,575.427X5 226,976.64 11,348.83 238,325.477X4 158,886.00 7,944.30 166,830.307X2 68,249.93 3,412.50 71,662.436X4 143,693.55 7,184.68 150,878.236X3 87,749.87 4,387.49 92,137.366X2 58,499.95 2,925.00 61,424.945X5 121,874.89 6,093.74 127,968.635X4 101,415.24 5,070.76 106,486.005X3 73,124.89 3,656.24 76,781.145X2 48,749.95 2,437.50 51,187.454X2 38,999.96 1,950.00 40,949.963X3 43,874.94 2,193.75 46,068.683X2 29,249.98 1,462.50 30,712.472X2 19,499.98 975.00 20,474.981X2 9,749.99 487.50 10,237.491X1 4,875.00 243.75 5,118.75BPS 2X2 268,734.38 13,436.72 282,171.09EPS 2X2 281,531.25 14,076.56 295,607.81C/SPREAD 1,151,718.75 57,585.94 1,209,304.69D/SPREAD 1,023,750.00 51,187.50 1,074,937.50D/SPREAD (1/2) 511,875.00 25,593.75 537,468.75

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COLOuR BLACk & WHITE

should include other arms of govern-ment, civil society groups, leaders of the private sector and private citizens. Everyone, in fact, must be allowed to contribute at every stage from the budget preparation, passage, imple-mentation, supplementary or amend-ment stages. Indeed, it would be help-ful if as soon as the Appropriation

Committees get hold of the budget they immedi-ately hold public hearings for Business Leaders, NGOs, Public Servants, Representatives of Blue Collar Workers, Farmers and the General Public. This will eventually lead to a document that at least has inputs from a cross section of the Nigerian society.

There are suggestions that we take a cue from the system in the United States where agencies take two years to prepare their budget proposals, fine-tuning it so well that one year before the budget year they get to submit it to the Budget Office for inclusion in the President’s budget estimates to the National Assembly. According to Section 81 of the 1999

Constitution, “The President shall cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year es-timates of the revenues and expen-diture of the Federation for the next following financial year”. This implies that a President is expected, at the very least, to present his budget before

January 1st of the New Year.There is a need to amend the

Constitution to make the President submit his proposals at least three months before the end of the pre-ceding financial year so that the leg-islature can perform its vetting duties in time for the Budget to be opera-tional by January 1st. Indeed, it will be helpful if the National Assembly gets some kind of time frame within which it is expected to finish delib-erations and return the budget to the President for assent. For the process of passing our national budget to become harmonious, less turbulent, and implementable, the stakeholders must develop the principles of collab-oration, consensus and compromise. Most significantly, the Executive must plan way ahead, submit the proposals early, and make wide consultations to encourage inputs from a variety of stakeholders. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, we must always re-member that this country comes first and we owe it to the people to make the budget an effective instrument for redistributing wealth and bring the dividends of democracy closer to our people.

Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto State and former Speaker of the House

of Representatives, made this remark at the Gallery Colloquium on Budgetary Reforms

held in Abuja in September.

AminU WAziri tAmbUWAl

I must commend the orga-nizers of this conversation for their foresight in putting together this event in an ef-fort to widen the scope of discussion on our budget-

ary process. This is coming at a time when despite the economic challeng-es confronting us, the whole nation is subjected to a painful rhetoric on appropriation process.

It is clear that with the un-called-for altercations we have had over the years on budgets; we need to reform the federal budgetary process to make it more lucid, inclusive and implementable. Part of the reasons why we have had problems with the budget over the years is the paucity of knowledge about the whole budget process. This type of conversation is therefore critical to the effort we must make to make the budgetary process accessible to all and encourage more participation in this crucial national issue.

It is our firm belief that if more stakeholders, especially the major players in the process, can gain greater insight into the whole system of bud-geting, and if the National Assembly as an Arm of Government can attain the dexterity demanded to examine the budgetary estimates submitted annually by the President, there will be less attrition and mistrust between the two Arms of Government.

One of the problems we have in this country is near absence of plan-ning in our budgetary process. If at all we are interested in making progress in our efforts to reform our budgetary process, we have to begin to get our planning and budgeting right. Can you imagine from Rolling Plans and Annual Budgets through to Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Annual Budgets, it has always been a routine? Our planning and budget design is executed with-out zeal and passion and it is similarly implemented without much national commitment. Perhaps that was why appropriations in this democratic dispensation have had a chequered history which is a common knowl-edge.

This idea of inclusiveness should not only pertain to members of the National Assembly who are con-stitutionally mandated to perform oversights on the federal budget, but

Inclusion, Way out of Budget Crisis

December 15, 2016

GuestColumnistAminu Waziri Tambuwal

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