Again, Jonathan, NASS Feud Stalls Budget Presentation

•Senators flay President over failure  •Oil benchmark yet to be sorted out, says Abati  •President not scared of embarrassment –Gulak

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan for the second time in two weeks aborted his plans again on Tuesday to present the 2014 Appropriation Bill to the joint sitting of the National Assembly.

Aso Rock explained that this was caused by the need to allow both the Senate and House of Representatives harmonise their positions on the crude oil price benchmark.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja hours after the Jonathan’s planned trip to the National Assembly was cancelled, Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, said being on same page with the lawmakers over key areas of the budget was important to avert the acrimony and brickbats that trailed past budget presentations and implementation.

He stressed that “previous acrimonies were blamed on failure of inter- governmental relationship”, which needed to be avoided now.

According to Abati, “The budget has been ready for over a week now, but since the two arms of the National Assembly are yet to harmonise their positions on the crude oil bench mark in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), it was wise for Mr. President to wait until this is done”

He assured Nigerians that the President would “cause the budget to be laid before the National Assembly as soon as the harmonisation is concluded.”

The Senate had earlier rejected the President’s oil price benchmark of $74 per barrel and raised it to $76.50 per barrel, while the House opted for $79 per barrel.

The House approved daily oil production of 2.38 million barrels per day (mbpd) for 2014; 2.50 mbpd for 2015 and 2.54 mbpd for 2016.

The lawmakers also demanded that their reports on the MTEF and FSP be so reflected in the 2014 budget before it is presented to them for consideration and passage.

Besides, it was understood that the Executive is trying to avoid a bloated budget in 2014, thus proposing a curb in public expenditure, whereas the lawmakers are believed to be seeking increased spending ahead of the general elections in 2015

On his part, Jonathan’s Chief Political Adviser, Ahmed Gulak, debunked claims that the budget presentation was cancelled because of alleged plans by lawmakers loyal to the factional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) group otherwise known as New PDP to boo or embarrass the President during the event.

According to Gulak, “This is not true. First, the President is not scared of anybody and secondly, the PDP is one strong united party and as such, no one can embarrass the President in the National Assembly.

“These people are not on ground. They do not even know how to do political calculation properly. They should stay in their states and develop them and make impact in their respective states instead of doing things that will not profit them.”

He also advised aggrieved members of the party to seek redress through appropriate channels or leave the party honourably.

Daily Independent gathered that Jonathan opted to shelve the presentation of the 2014 budget because of the ripple effects of the PDP crisis.

The New PDP lawmakers had allegedly connived with the opposition to frustrate any move by the Presidency to get the House of Representatives to back down on the $79 per barrel it adopted as the oil benchmark for 2014.

A source at the National Assembly told Daily Independent on Tuesday that a deal has been struck by the New PDP with some other liberal minded main PDP members in agreement with opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) members to ensure that nothing was dropped from the agreed and approved oil benchmark as passed by the House.

Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Zakari Mohammed, at a press conference after plenary on Tuesday faulted the argument of the Presidency as it relates to the MTEF, saying the excuse was not genuine.

According to him, this is not the first time that the MTEF passage would have some lapses, explaining that such did not prevent the President from laying the budget in the past.

Mohammed explained further that in 2012, the House succeeded in passing the MTEF without the Senate doing same but such did not stop the President from laying the budget before the parliament.

He added that it would also be wrong for anyone to blame the lawmakers for the seeming delay in the passage of the MTEF even without taking into consideration the differences in the suggested oil benchmark.

Mohammed noted that the Presidency has consistently violated the provision of the Constitution in relation to the time frame for budget presentation to the National Asembly as well as the submission of MTEF.

According to him, the Fiscal  responsibility Act makes it mandatory for the President to send to the National Assembly, the MTEF documents six months before the end if any fiscal year.

Speaking on the demand for harmonisation of the MTEF document with a view to arriving at a common figure for the oil benchmark, Mohammed said a conference committee will be set up in accordance with the law with a view to harmonising the positions of the two chambers.

He, however, said he could not say specifically when the conference committee will conclude its work.

Mohammed also debunked the rumor that the President stayed away because he had security report that members were poised to embarrass him by booing him, saying such can never happen in the parliament.

Senators were also disappointed over Jonathan’s failure to present the budget estimates as scheduled.

They said the President had no valid reason not to present the budget.

Senator Kabiru Marafa reacted thus: “We have to agree on the same (oil) benchmark because that is what the Constitution of Nigeria says . It provides for bicameral legislature. No one had an upper hand above the other.

“We have to agree as soon as practicable because we have to do away with the issue of arm twisting and impunity because this is getting too much from the Executive.

“Why should you peg the benchmark? You cannot eat your cake and have it. There is separation of power. The issue of budget is the business of the legislature.

“Furthermore, the issue of pegging the benchmark should be the work of the legislature. We are all Nigerians. We know what is all about and we come up with what is realistic.

“It is not what the Executive says that is realistic. The Constitution provides that all revenues accruing to the federation be retired into an account and after which it will be disbursed to the three tiers of government.

“What we have now is that the Executive put a benchmark and have excess which was used to cover inadequacies on the increase everyday and it is nobody’s businesses.

“It is for the Executive to implement. The Excess Crude Account is illegal. That is why according to a Governor recently, $5bn missed from the account. Who removed the money? Funds should be appropriated before they are spent. Who approved the removal of the $5bn?” Marafa said.

In his own contribution, Senator Muhammed Maccido said: “The two chambers had to agree on the same benchmark because that is what the Constitution says. We have to deliberate on this issue and we have not done that.

“Our leadership at both chambers had sat down with the Minister of Finance too. I was in the meeting too and what we agreed upon was that we should try as much as we could to adhere to $76.50 per barrel but that is within the leadership.

“When you get to your different chambers, its a different ball game. Everybody has the right to say whatever he wants to say.

“The members of the House of Representatives believed that they have an issue to iron out with the Presidency on the issue of benchmark.

“Unfortunately they had their way. The letter from the Presidency is not an indictment on the legislature because we are not late in receiving Mr. President’s input.

“As far as I am concerned, we still have the rest of the year to receive Mr President and I believe that at the moment, the issues are geared towards an ad hoc committee that will sit within the next one week to iron this out.

“If we iron this out this week, Mr President would be able to present the budget by next week.

“God’s willing we will pass the budget this year. We have the rest of the year to do that. So I am sure we can do it,” Maccido stated.