The presidency and delayed 2008 budget

THAT the 2008 budget could not be passed before the
new year is regrettable and the blame must be put
squarely on the doorstep of the executive arm of government. Since the beginning of this republic in 1999, the story has always been the same. During the last regime, the problem became too difficult to handle that the budgets were even rolled over. In some years, it rolled up to March or even April before the year’s budget was passed. During the first four years of the last regime, it was the executive leverage on the support it enjoyed from the media to blackmail the legislature and consequently, was able to transfer the blame of delay in budget passage to the National Assembly.

In the first year of the Yar’Adua-led administration, the same problem has continued. Now, it is clear that it is the executive arm of government that has always caused the delay in budget passage. Reports emanating from the sessions budget defence convened by committees of the two chambers of the National Assembly show clearly that the federal ministries, parastatals and units were not just ready for the budget defence.

It degenerated to a level where threats of arrest had to be made on the absenting public servants from the executive arm. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Michael Andoakaa (SAN) even asked the National Assembly to arrest any public officer who declined invitation by the legislature to appear for budget defence.

The AGF’s statement reminds us of this cliché “not business as usual”. What the chief law officer of the federation said, like the cliché, has no weight because most of those who shun budget defence are from the executive like the AGF. It would be safe to say that the executive is not serious with dealing with the truants within its fold who treat budget processing with levity. Otherwise, we need punishment for those who refused to appear before the committees. The AGF should recommend stiff sanction and, in practice, deter his fellow appointees from the executive arm from derailing our budgets.

All the AGF needs to do is to re-enact his fight with the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on the lousy public officers and we would not have budget delays. How does the presidency come in, in this matter? Aso Rock is the appointing and disciplinary body for the executive arm. If the presidency does not bear its fangs on its appointees, the delay in budget processing will not end.

Secondly, the levity with which the executive treated the budget defence did a lot of damage to the claims by President Umaru Yar’Adua that he wants to depart from the ugly past. The budget is critical to whatever this regime wants to leave behind as achievements and there is no reason to allow public officers under the executive to truncate budget processing and go scot-free.

How the executive handles the 2008 budget will enforce or destroy the confidence of the people on the capacity and readiness to implement rule of law and fight corruption. The inaction of some staff from the executive arm on the 2008 budget so far left much to be desired and greater seriousness is needed in this January to make sure that the budget is passed this month. Meanwile, kudos to President Umaru Yar’Adua for giving Nigerians a Christmas without petrol scarcity. For the first time in many years, there was no long queues of vehicles at most filling station neither did we witness ugly scenes of an old man fighting at petrol stations in front of his children because another petrol hunter had jumped the queue to take petrol ahead of those who were before him. Such disgraceful conducts became the order of the day every Christmas. But 2007 festivities became different. It was Yar’Adua’s first Christmas as president. Now, the big demand is that we should spend the 2008 Christmas with 20 hours of electricity supply per day.

Plenty food got spoilt in the refrigerators last December because of epileptic power supply and the women are angry. If this government can guarantee us 20 hours of power supply daily by the end of this year, then the Eldorado has come for the people of this nation.