…Senators allege phantom projects
From ADETUTU FOLASADE-KOYI, IHENACHO NWOSU and TAIWO AMODU Abuja
Two striking highlights dominated the passage of the 2013 Budget by the two chambers of the National Assembly in Abuja yesterday. One:The House of Representatives’ feud with the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, assumed a new dimension when the lawmakers did not allocate a kobo to the federal agency.
The Reps and Oteh’s face-off culminated in the former’s call on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack her for alleged incompetence. Ms Oteh had accused former Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Herman Hembe of demanding a bribe from her which culminated in his removal. When contacted over the zero allocation yesterday, SEC told our reporter: no comment.
On its part, the Senate said that in passing the estimates, it discovered some fictitious projects in the budget which did not appear in 2011 and 2012. However, the National Assembly raised the budget to N4.987 trillion from the N4.924 trillion presented to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan in October this year. Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Ahmed Maccido, disclosed the status of the projects when he presented the N4.987 trillion budget to the house yesterday, explaining that the National Assembly Joint Committees on Appropriation and Finance discovered in the course of preparing the new budget that some projects which were hitherto non-existent in 2011 and 2012 budgets were listed in the 2013 budget as “on-going.”
His words: “Conceptualisation of the budget by the executive is still a big issue that we must confront as representatives of the people. There should be a verifiable template for budgeting especially on capital projects.
If the painful sight of abandoned projects in Nigeria would be a thing of the past, then on-going projects must be properly verified. A situation where projects not found in the 2011 and 2012 budgets are found in 2013 as on-going is very misleading. In the same vein, a situation where uncompleted projects are not included in the budgets of succeeding years is wasteful. But Maccido commended the executive for the early submission of the budget and expressed the hope that the same spirit would be extended in 2013 for the 2014 budget.
In the House yesterday, the lawmakers said the capital component of the 2012 budget would be rolled over to next year. The House said: “Notwithstanding the provisions of section 19 of the Finance(Control and Management)Act,2004 or section1(I) and (iii) of the 2012 Appropriation Act or any other finance law for the time being in force, all unutilised ,unexecuted and unimplemented Capital Expenditure Component of the 2012 Appropriation Act shall be rolled over and shall be construed to form part of the 2013 Appropriation Act, provided that the unutilised capital expenditure component of 2012 Budget shall lapse on the 12th day of April 2013”. The House, however, came up with a surprise.
It gave a zero allocation to the SEC whom it has been at war with. It directed that “all revenues to SEC, however described, including all fees received, fines, grants, budgetary provisions and all internally and externally generated revenues shall not be spent by the Securities and Exchange Commission for recurrent or capital purposes or for any other matter, nor liabilities therein incurred except with prior appropriation and approval by the National Assembly”. A breakdown of the 2013 budget as passed by the House showed that the recurrent expenditure was placed at N2.386 trillion while the capital expenditure stood at N1.072 trillion.
Under the capital expenditure, works got the lion’s share with N168,173,800,000,followed by water resources that was allocated N84,228,166,366, power got N73,159,378,866 House Deputy Speaker, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, who chaired the session, before hitting the gavel to signify the passage of the budget, explained that the decision of the chamber to brush everything aside and pass the budget was in line with the promise given by the House that it will be through with the budget before the end of December. Corroborating Ihedioha’s submissions, House spokesman, Zakari Mohammed, noted that though the House had some reservations about the budget it had to pass it in fulfilment of its promise and in the general interest of the masses. Earlier, the Chairman of Appropriation, John Enoh, who raised the motion on the Appropriation Bill, lamented that Nigeria was “still in the throes of a worrisome infrastructure deficit across the length and breadth of the nation which should be of huge concern to all.
He advised that the “executive should be more circumspect in its budget assignments to avoid acute cases of over-budgeting on one hand and in other instances, under- budgeting.” Also, the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, has commended both the Presidency and the legislature for prompt submission and passage of the 2013 budget. She described the passage of the new budget “as a pivotal moment in our nation’s history as it is the first time since 1999 that the budget of a succeeding year has been passed in the preceding year.”
Meanwhile, the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP) has described the speedy passage of the 2013 budget by the National Assembly as a loud commentary on the maturity of the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives and a clear indication that democracy was not only gaining firm footing, but safe in the hands of the PDP.” A statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said that good governance was directly dependent on the twin factors of patriotism and capacity for delivery, saying that the PDP-led National Assembly has demonstrated both. “ The National Assembly which our great party leads, has demonstrated that it has come of age in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
It has also shown that the people of Nigeria is its primary constituency and that their interest is supreme. The seriousness and the high degree of scrutiny which guided the consideration of the 2013 budget proposal, serves directly, the long stringent quest for transparent and workable national budget. We commend them for this,” he said.
Kudos to National Assembly for the quick passage of the 2013 budget, now we are waiting for the quick implementation. SEC must hv bn abandoned b/c she refused to cooperate (give bribe).
what is this Madness of lawmakers with SEC nau
It is not madness; it is likeness, I think. Mrs Oteh is a lady of steel!
Hmmmm. No comments from me on this.
The attitude of NASS on SEC is savagery. Life does not begin or end with political power. Personal problems ought not be use as witchhunt.
The attitude of NASS to SEC is just Childish and Malicious.
The woman doesn’t deserve this treatment from them bcus she stand up for the Truth.
Let’s see how these game will end up. They should bear in mind that they’re trying to destroy what she’s building up which is our Capital Market.
God willing they will never succeed.
Don’t worry Ms Oteh. God will see you through.
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If Oteh run SEC sUCCESSFULLY till may 2013 without allocation then NASS will be the biggest shame this planet will ever know. corrupt set of people
This is extremely childish of these so-called corrupt NASS members who just see nothing good in Oteh rather than rubish women’s exploits in our country which GEJ is trying to balance that prolonged deprivation of women in Nigeria’s political landscape.
It’s because the woman was bold to send one of their own packing into oblivion hence the vendeta against her.
The NASS have clearly demonstrated that they’ve lost the battle only for them to use the appropriation to witchunt her. Majority of them in the NASS are highly incompetent of being there talkless of accussing a woman who had demonstrated many times that she’s more than capable of leading SEC to transform of our battered stock market.
It shows that the NASS are not serving the interest of the electorates that puts them. It also shows that they are only out to protect their personal pockets. BUT WHY THIS?!
This grandstanding posture by National Assembly and its sabre rattling of legislative power and threats is a veil attempt to undermine,and consequently usurp the executive power at the detriment of the populace.Albeit,the tenet of check and balance condones it,when abused it’s becomes toxic in the system and would no longer serve its purpose.
The harmful dimension of using apparently absolute power has started manifesting in the standstill between the executive and National Assemly on SEC,and may not augur well for the fledgling democracy.This cult action must stop.
He who holds his opponent on the ground will also remain down with him. If you fight and run away you will fight another day. We are watching from afar. Let the music play.
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IS IT LEGAL FOR THE NASS TO DENY THE SEC FUNDS IT NEEDS TO CARRY OUT ITS CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES?THIS IS CLEARLY AN ACT OF VENDETTA WHICH SHOULD BE CONDEMNED.
This house should endeavour to leave this fine nwada igbo alone!!!
Gani IS truly gone
THIS IS SCENE IS BECOMING CHILDISH, WORRISOME AND PERSONAL. WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM HER? WHY DO THEY WANT HER SACKED? WAS IT BECASUE SHE CAUSED THE SACK OF SOMEONE WHO WAS DEMANDING BRIBE FROM HER?
THE SO-CALLED LAW MARKERS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT NOT EVERYONE IS AS CORRUPT AS THEY ARE. SHE SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE TO DO HER JOB.
FELLOW NIGERIANS, DON’T YOU THINK IT IS TIME FOR THE ARAB-WORLD-STYLED REVOLUTION TO TAKE PLACE IN NIGERIA? FOR HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO WATCH THESE FOOLS IN GOVERNMENT LIVE BIG AND RICH WITH THE MONEY MEANT FOR ALL OF US?
Why are these men so shameless and and corrupt to the point of being vindictive to an individual at the detriment of a whole nation. They have no constitutional right to demand for the lady’s sack. She is not a staff of the Nass. They refuse to forgive her for exposing their rotten and corrupt conduct. The president should never give in.
“a ‘man’ is known by ‘his’ enemies!!! when a body as greed-oriented and as actually corrupt as the so-called nass, in an entity like nigeria which is the metaphor for corruption is giving someone “the third degree”, as is being done to oteh now, that someone must have refused to comprise and play by the nigerian rule, and is actually doing something good; oteh must have upset the apple cart, if you know what i mean. nigeria! nigeria!! nigeria!!! shame to the shameless.
“a ‘man’ is known by ‘his’ enemies!!!” when a body as greed-oriented and as actually corrupt as the so-called nass, in an entity like nigeria which is the metaphor for corruption is giving someone “the third degree”, as is being done to oteh now, that someone must have refused to comprise and play by the nigerian rule, and is actually doing something good; oteh must have upset the apple cart, if you know what i mean. nigeria! nigeria!! nigeria!!! shame to the shameless.
Quick passage or late passage of budget with dont know the difference. God will Judge everybody.
Is it the responsibility of NA to tell the exco. who to sack? These guys are taking the presidency for a ride. Honestly i do not understand where we are heading to. Where is Faruk Lawan and the dollars? useless fools.
Without this corrupt NASS, we can fund SEC! I think we can. N5 each month from each of us (the relegated masses) can keep SEC going. it’s possible! And after, we shall sack the NASS, chase them out of the House, out of the Chambers and out of our impoverished and unrepresented communities. Let’s determine the destiny of this nation! It’s in our hands!! It’s time!!!
Very good idea
You are absolutely right National Conscience. That is the type of revolution that will change Nigeria for the better. ARISE O YOUTHS; NIGERIA’S CALL OBEY. TO FIGHT CORRUPTION ….Yes. It is time to call the corrupt cabal who call themselves politicians to order. Indeed we can do it if we are able to overlook our minor differences and unite for a common purpose. A recent study in the US showed that Nigerians are the most intelligent and most educated ethnic nationality in America! That is we are better than the Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Koreans, Germans and name it. Indeed because there is opportunity to excel there. We are the best at what we do if given an enabling and conducive environment. Yes we can do it in Nigeria; Nigeria can be transformed with the enormous human and material capital we have; the only obstacle is corruption of our leaders from the national level to the local government. May God help us to save ourselves.
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The NAS should be asked whose interest are they protecting, theirs or that of the poor masses that put them there? It is really a shame. I think they want to be chased out of that House. It is now obvious that GANI is gone. Shame on all those who claims to be activics and are keeping quite in the midst of this deep injustice.
when you fight coruption, it wil fight you back, becose oteh exposed herman hembe, they now gang up against the woman. why is it that our law looter are indomitable? the same thing they did in facrook and odedola. with this, i dont think we can win war against coruption in this country, instead of them to suspend any of their colleague that found one thing, they will team up and started attacking whoever try to expose them.na wa o
I am truly embarrassed by these gang of thieves.
The target is not Oteh or SEC. The game is to show all heads of parastatals some gangster arm twisting. That if you don’t pay us you will not work. The next target is to rubbish jonathan’s government as too weak to select his team.
Next is to remove the presidential budget.
Furthermore, how does this save the the stock Exchange?
My heart gladdened as I read through the thread of comments on this issue. I was almost crying when I saw a law maker bragging in AIT that “if Oteh is not removed, SEC’s budget will not be approved”. That made me to question whose interest these law makers are protecting. Stopping the smooth running of SEC because of your parochial selfish interest against Oteh is of no doubt, a disservice to Nigerians that you are supposed to be representing. NASS should please know that they are not representing Nigerians on this matter. After all, I don’t think the president is under compulsion to take you people’s advice/recommendation on any matter. Know your limitation NASS, period.