Top Presidential Adviser Backs N’Assembly’s Powers to Amend Budget

Ololade Adeyanju
Amid the unending controversy surrounding the powers of the National Assembly (NASS) over the country’s annual budgets, a top aide of President Muhammadu Buhari has thrown his weight behind the legislature.

Both the Presidency and the Executive arm of the government have maintained that the powers of the National Assembly is limited to reviewing and approving the budget estimates and does not extend to inserting new projects in the budget.

Recently, Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, faulted the lawmakers’ decision to tamper with the budget of his ministry for the current year by lowering the amount voted for some projects, including the strategic Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and inserting other projects of their own.

But NASS has consistently faulted the Executive’s position and insisted that it reserved the authority to tinker with both the estimates and the projects contained in the budget.

In a series of tweets, on Wednesday evening, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, in the Presidency, Dr. Joe Abah, argued that NASS has the powers to amend the budget as it deems fit.

Tweeting from the handle, @DrJoeAbah, he said: “As an intellectually honest scholar, I am now convinced that NASS has powers to amend as they deem fit. I reverse my earlier stand.

“Whether NASS should insert projects arbitrarily is one thing. Whether they can insert is another thing. I am now convinced they can.”

Abah further quoted sections 80 and 81 of the 1999 constitution to buttress his position.

The two sections he quoted state: “80 (1) All revenues or other moneys raised or received by the Federation (not being revenues or other moneys payable under this Constitution or any Act of the National Assembly into any other public fund of the Federation established for a specific purpose) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.”

“(2) No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the fund by this Constitution or where the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Appropriation Act or an Act passed in pursuance of section 81 of this Constitution.”

“(3) no moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund of the Federation, other than the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, unless the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Act of the National Assembly.”

“(4) No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the Federation, except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly.”

“81 (1) The President shall cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year.”

Arguing his position further, Abah tweeted: “A number of people have asked why I interpret Section 81 of the Constitution to mean NASS can insert projects. Short thread will follow.

“Let’s use the analogy of marriage, a concept that I have been familiar with for longer than I have been familiar with the 1999 Constitution.

“In a proper marriage, there is separation of powers and a system of checks and balances. Each party has obligations to each other.

“That means that hubby proposes something and wifey has the power to decide What, How, How Much, When, Where, For Whom and Whether or Not!

“Now, let’s say the husband is given a lot power, including deciding who can visit the house and who can’t, which “mei-guard” to engage etc.

“But to spend any money on anything, he must first submit estimates of what he wants to spend to his wife. She decides how the money is spent.

“Their marriage contract actually says that he CANNOT spend any money EXCEPT in the manner set out by his wife. Not just approved but SET OUT.

“If presents an estimate to buy a new widescreen TV for the family to watch both football and Z-World, wifey decides all those things.

“So, wifey could say any of the following: Buy a smaller one; buy a bigger one; buy Samsung instead of LG; or you can’t buy a TV at all.

“Wifey could also remove the TV from the estimates & put gold jewellery instead and if hubby doesn’t buy the gold, she’s allowed to sack him!

“If hubby spends money on “mei-guard”, diesel, rent etc in the manner set out by wifey but does not buy the gold, she can sack him & remarry.

“Now tell me. Does wifey have the powers to insert gold into the estimates provided by hubby, given the agreement they have? Let’s vote.”

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