'Budget padding': Is the Senate also guilty?

 

 

As the ‘budget padding’ controversy rages in the House of Representatives, COSMAS EKPUNOBI beams a searchlight on the role of the Senate Committee on Appropriations to discern whether a similar script played out

The budget scandal rock­ing the House of Represen­tatives is becoming more intriguing by the day. In­terestingly, so many things have happened in quick succession since the em­battled former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation Hon. Abdul­mumin Jibrin spilled the beans. But before making more deafening revelations a few days ago, Hon Jibrin first told Nigerians that he was now a ‘born again’ anti-corruption fighter and that there would be no going back until the Lower House is cleaned up.

The embattled lawmaker again raised 20 questions that bother on allegation of corruption against his hitherto close political as­sociates. As if that was not enough, he told Nigerians again how embattled speak­er Hon. Yakubu Dogara, his deputy, Hon. Yusuf Sulei­man Lasun and two other principal officers of the House shared N17billion to themselves from the pro­posed N100billion constitu­ency projects fund in 2016 budget. The speaker alone allegedly got N3.8billion, his deputy N2.8billion. The speaker was also alleged to have diverted a major water project to his constituency.

The former chairman who himself is seen in some quarters as a principal ac­tor in the alleged N40billion budget scandal. Hon. Jibrin in a petition to the Depart­ment of State Security Ser­vices also named the Chief Whip of the House Alhas­san Ado Doguwa, and the Minority Leader Hon. Leo Ogor in the alleged celebrat­ed budget padding.

Again, he told the secu­rity operatives how some members of his commit­tee collected 20,000 dollars each from the embattled speaker to cover his alleged crime. The Kano State-born lawmaker was said to have made similar chilling sub­missions to the Economic and Financial Crime Com­mission (EFCC). Sources said he has also alerted the leadership of the All Pro­gressive Congress (APC) about the alleged crime.

The tough talking law­maker said he cannot be intimidated by the threat by the speaker to drag him to court for defamation of character.

Meanwhile, the secretariat of the House Committee on Appropriation has been sealed by the security op­eratives, suggesting more troubles for the embattled speaker and other principal officers of the House already fingered in the alleged pad­ding.

Some civil society groups are already asking the speaker to step aside to al­low for unhindered investi­gation into the said scandal. Though it may be too early in the day to predict how the saga would end in the House, there are however fears that the Lower House may not remain the same when the lawmakers resume session mid next month. The lawmakers are already divided down their ethnic, party and group interests. A group of lawmakers domi­nated by those opposed to the emergence of Dogara as speaker of the House in June 9, 2015 are allegedly work­ing with some external forc­es to impeach the speaker.

Though it may be too early in the day to dismiss this as another empty threat, but the office of the speaker had in a reaction at the weekend insisted that there was no cause for alarm. The speaker

 

 

 

in a reaction argued that it was curious for the Jibrin to have waited until he was sacked to make such spuri­ous allegations. Some mem­bers of the committee have since distanced themselves from the alleged N40billion padding levelled against the speaker by Hon. Jibrin.

While the embattled for­mer chairman Jibrin has vowed to churn out more documents to support his allegations, the big question on the lips of many is - what was the role of the Senate Committee on Appropria­tion in the alleged N40bil­lion budget padding.

There were arguments in some quarters that the Sen­ate Committee on Appro­priation may not be com­pletely innocent in the said crime going by the modus operandi (legislative prac­tice) in the National Assem­bly. It takes two to tango.

Though the Lower House has always claimed to be independent from the Sen­ate. However, the Appro­priation Committees of the two chambers by legislative convention and practice must agree for such padding if any to form part of the budget approved by the Na­tional Assembly at the end of the day.

The rules allow both chambers to raise confer­ence committee to resolve any difference that may arise in the course of har­monizing the report of the appropriation committees. Items listed in any bill in­cluding budget are consid­ered clause by clause at the conference committee be­fore a clean copy of the bill is presented to both chambers for approval.

The report as the case may be is subjected to similar scrutiny at the end of the day on the floor of the two chambers before the bill becomes an Act of the Na­tional Assembly. Either of the two chambers may how­ever decide to simply con­cur with the other on any other bill except monetary bill, (budget). It therefore suggest that either of the two chambers cannot alone pad the budget. It was also alleged that such padding if any need to secure the bless­ing of Senate Committee on Appropriation before it can be presented to the com­mittee of the whole for ap­proval.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropria­tion senator Danjuma Goje was reportedly quizzed by some senators a few weeks ago over similar allegations. Source alleged that the for­mer governor of Gombe state came under fire in a recent closed session in the Senate as aggrieved sena­tors took turn to accuse of him of secretly running the committee. He was alleged to have unilaterally tin­kered with the constituency projects earlier inserted by senators in the controversial 2016 budget.

Sources said the for­mer governor acted alone in some of the provisions in the budget. His deputy Senator Ogboji was report­edly shut out in the commit­tee work. Most of the deals sources alleged were done between the two chairmen and some principal officers of both chambers. Some other senators who sum­moned courage to speak at the said closed session also accused the chairman of high handedness.

There was pressure then on the chairman of the committee to resign his job. Speculations were rife a few hours before the minor change of committee head­ship in the Senate, that sena­tor Goje may top the list of the casualty. Senators were however disappointed as the job of the former governor was saved.

Sources alleged that the Senate President Bukola Saraki refused to go the way of Dogara to avoid a crack in his defence team in the Sen­ate. Goje himself is a strong supporter of Saraki and removing him from office in such circumstance may cause bad blood which may create more problems for the embattled senate presi­dent. The Senate president in a move to shore up his support base however con­ceded more juicy commit­tee chairmanship positions to his political enemies in the Senate. He named Sena­tor Kabiru Marafa as chair­man Senate Committee on Petroluem (down-stream), Senator Oluremi Tinubu as chairman on Environment. Senator Enyinnaya Abariba was moved from Informa­tion Committee to Power Committee. Hope Uzodin­ma was moved from Avia­tion to Custom. Senator Binta Masi was however moved from Committee on Tertiary Education to Women Affairs.

Sources alleged that a few aggrieved senators are work­ing to reopen the alleged budget padding in the Senate. Though it was not specific on how much of the padding was done in the 2016 budget by the senators, but sources alleged that the amount could be higher that the celebrated N40billion budget scandal in Dogara’s Lower House. Inter­estingly, senate leadership has dismissed the alleged pad­ding in the Lower House as mainly a media creation

 

 

Share on Google Plus Share

About Unknown

chilaka maximus.