By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – National Assembly on Friday replied the President Muhammadu Buhari on the issues of budget, clarifying that the adjustments were made to redress the imbalance in the appropriation bill as presented by the executive.
The NASS disclosed this on Friday in a joint statement signed by the spokesmen of the red and green chambers, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi and Hon. Abdulrazak Nandas respectively.
Sundiata Post recalls that the National Assembly had in a statement on Thursday promised to give detailed response to the issues raised by President Buhari while signing the 2018 budget into law on Wednesday in Aso Villa Abuja.
According the statement, “adjustments and reductions in the locations, costs and number of projects approved were made in order to address geo-political imbalances that came with the Executive proposal.
It informed that “the introduction of new projects was done to ensure the promotion of the principles of Federal Character as contained in Section 14, subsection (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended which states that “the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria...”
National Assembly reminded that “the number of projects had to be increased in order to give a sense of belonging to every geo-political zone of the country to ensure socio-economic justice, equity, fairness, and to command National loyalty.
The Nationa Assembly which said that if the President had been properly briefed by his appointees, he would not have raised most of the concerns that he did in his remarks at the budget signing, stressed that “Within the context of the provisions of Sections 4, 80 and 81 of the Constitution, everything that the National Assembly has done is within its powers.
Speaking further, the National Assembly noted that Chapter 2 of the Constitution emphasizes the need for balance, inclusivity, and equity in the distribution of national resources. Adding that the annual budget, which symbolizes the distribution of these resources must reflect the aforementioned values, which we swore to uphold.
The statement reads in parts:
“These Constitutional provisions, in addition to a recent Court judgment have affirmed the fact that the budget process is a ‘joint effort’ that must reflect the input of both the executive and the legislature — the latter being the closest representatives of the people. However, we are fully aware that the Executive has the exclusive responsibility to execute all parts of the Appropriation Act once it is signed into law.
“It is our firm belief that if the President had been properly briefed by his appointees, he would not have raised most of the concerns that he did in his remarks at the budget signing. It is therefore inevitable for the legislature to give members of the public an insight into what transpired during the appropriations process and how we arrived at the decisions that are contained in the 2018 budget.