Yar'Adua heads for fresh showdown with N/Assembly

Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 24.03.2008

THE executive and the legislative arms of government are still pitted against each other on the 2008 budget following the rejection by President Umaru Yar’Adua of some clauses in the harmonised Appropriation Bill sent to him by the National Assembly. The President had returned the Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, asking for removal of clauses which empower the legislative arm to give last approval of spending for the executive arm in budget implementation.

The clauses rejected by the President had suggested that the National Assembly would henceforth be participating in the process of budget implementation as a means of ensuring that the amounts budgeted are not misappropriated.

It will be the first in the history of the ongoing democracy that the National Assembly has taken such a measure to enhance its oversight function on the executive arm. The House Committee Chairman on Business and Rules, Honourable Ita Enang, had told newsmen that the clauses inserted into the 2007 Appropriation Bill were meant to enhance the process of implementing the budget and preventing poor implementation as witnessed during the past government.

However, the presidency is said to have frowned on the clauses in its desire to have the right of sole implementation of the 2008 budget, thereby preventing what it regarded as interference by the federal legislators.

However, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, had allayed fear over the Appropriation Bill, indicating that the National Assembly was disposed to the wishes of President Yar’Adua to ensure early signing of the budget by him.

Bankole told House of Representatives correspondents at the weekend that the President would assent to the 2008 budget before the end of next week.

According to him, the thoroughness of the President on the budget was the reason for the delay in appending his signature, adding that he (Yar’Adua) had been ensuring that everything went well with the bill before signing it.

He said the practice under the past administration was that the president usually signed the executive summary, whereas President Yar’Adua had preferred to sign the entire budget.

Both the Senate and the House had earlier bowed to the wishes of President Yar’Adua on reduction of the budget and had thus cut down the sub-heads for ministries and parastatal agencies by several billions of naira.

There have been sharp disagreements between the executive and the legislative arms of government over the budget bill presented by President Yar’Adua in November 2007, a reason the implementation is yet to commence even in March.