After three weeks of yet to be ended budget defence sessions at the commitee levels at both chambers of the National Assembly, plenary sessions begin today. TAIYE ODEWALE reports.
Practice of plenary suspension
The practice of plenary suspension at both chambers of the National Assembly, for budget defence sessions at committee levels, was intoduced during the 8th Assembly to fast-track the process of budget consideration and passage.
But due largely to the face-off between the National Assembly and the Executive then, suspension of plenary at that time for that purpose, did not achieve much as some heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), refused to appear before relevant committees for the required interface and invariably delayed budget consideration and passage to month of April or May of the fiscal year in question.
Even before the 8th National Assembly, process for expeditious consideration and passage of yearly budget used to be injured right from the stage of presentation by any president in power, who at that time, did so in the month of December and not first week of October that has been the practice since 2019.
Paradigm shift of the 9th Assembly
But the 9th Assembly from inception on the 11th of June, 2019, resolved to return implementation of the yearly budgetary cycle to January/December as reflected in the speeches separetely read by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.
Being a legislature that is more or less ‘on the same page’ with the executive arm of government, aside President Muhammadu Buhari ensuring that budget presentation is done in the first week of October, the 9th National Assembly within the last two years, also ensured that the practice of plenary suspension is strictly adhered to, for specified weeks within the months of October and November for passage of the budget in December before going for Christmas recess with attendant presidential assent before the end of December of every year.
Historically, in line with determination by both the Legislature and the Executive on returning implementation of yearly budget cycle to January/ December, in 2019 and 2020, President Buhari made presentation of Budget proposals of 2020 and 2021 on the 8th of October of previous years, which were expeditiously considered by the National Assembly through quick passage for second reading and suspension of plenary for several weeks within the months of October and November for consideration at commitee levels and final passage in the second week of December.
Determined to repeat for 2022 fiscal year
In sustaining the feats achieved in 2019 and 2020 on expeditious consideration and passage of 2020 and 2021 Appropriation Bills, the National Assembly upon receipt of the 2022 proposals from President Muhammadu Buhari through presentation made to that effect on Thursday, October 7, 2021, swung into action by carrying out debate on the general principles of the N16.39trillion budgetary proposals the following week and passed it for second reading on the 13th of last month and as usual, suspended plenary thereafter till today, November 9, 2021 for consideration at commitee level.
Specifically, the Senate in rolling out guidelines for the budget consideration and passage, its Commitee on Appropriation chaired by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North) Monday, 0ctober 18, 2021, rolled out action plan time table to that effect.
According to him, “while budget defence sessions between the various standing committees and heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies ( MDAs), are slated for Monday, 18th October to Wednesday, 24th November, 8th and 9th November, are fixed for public hearing.
“Submissions and defence of budget reports by chairmen of the various standing committees were fixed for Wednesday 10th November to Wednesday 24th November.
“Collation/Harmonisation of Reports by Appropriation Committee are fixed for Thursday , 25th November to Tuesday , 7th December while laying and presentation of report by the Appropriation committee is fixed for Tuesday, 14th December , 2021 and consideration of the report/ passage, is fixed for 15th or 16th December , 2021”
Realities on ground
Going by the timetable for consideration of the budget, plenary may be suspended again after resumption today since almost half of the over 600 MDAs, are yet to appear before relevant committees of both chambers for the required budget defence sessions.
Even many of heads of those that had appeared are told to reappear for another round of sessions due to non satisfactory submissions made mostly on performance implementation of the 2021 budgetary votes.
Aside that, the two – day public hearing planned for the 2022 budget consideration, cannot run pari pasu or simultaneously with plenary at both chambers since leadership will be expected to be at the sessions.
Even as disclosed by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign debts, Senator Clifford Ordia (PDP Edo Central) to Blueprint last week, not all heads of agencies directed to appear before it on loans approved for the federal government as it affects their agencies, have done so.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has Wednesday, October 13, 2021, before Senate suspended its plenary to today, specifically, called on heads of six federal agencies affected to appear before the committee within one week or risk sanctions from the Senate.
Lawan in reading the riot act to the affected agencies said: “Some Ministries, Departments and Agencies of federal government that should have appeared before the Senate committee on Loan and Foreign Debt, to defend the debt request by the executive arm of government must do so before final consideration of the budget.
“These MDAs failed to appear. The Senate considers this attitude as a sabotage to the effort of thefeederal government to secure the loans and fund the infrastructure development that this country desperately needs.
“Already, the National Assembly has approved the loan requests but there is need for clarifications by the affected agencies.
“Therefore , we are giving them just one week to appear before the committee on local and foreign debts and if they fail to appear, we’ll take appropriate and prompt action because this Senate will not condone any sabotage to the effort of this administration”.
Affected MDAs in this regard as announced by Lawan are: “the Federal Ministries of Petroleum Resources, Power, Environment, Health, Water Resources and Women Affairs while the only agency is the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
Effect of on the same page principle
As tight as the schedule for consideration and passage of the N16.39trillion 2022 Appropriation Bill may be, the ‘on the same page principle’ being adopted by the Presidency and the 9th National Assembly, will surely make the latter to conclude work on it within the remaining six weeks it has in the year from today.
Ways of doing that expeditiously as done before, is to adopt the system of joint sessions at committees levels up to the report to be submitted by the Appropriation Committees of both chambers on Tuesday, 14th December, 2021.
What is clearly certain from the foregoing, is another round of suspension of plenary for proper tidying up of consideration at the commitee level.
This is more so, as public hearing included in this year’s processes of consideration, cannot be held pari pasu with plenary at both chambers.
