Buhari, NASS bicker over approved virement from service wide vote constituency project
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Fresh crisis is currently brewing between the Presidency and National
Assembly over the recent approval to vire the sum of N242.205 billion
for the 2019 general elections from the Constituency projects under
the Service Wide Vote allocation in the 2018 Appropriation Act.
The approval was in deviance from the request of President Muhammadu
Buhari via a letter dated 11th July, 2018, who urged the National
Assembly to vire the fund from the N578.31 billion unilaterally
inserted in the 2018 budget as Zonal Intervention/Constituency
projects by the Parliament, apart from the statutory N100 billion
which the parties collectively agreed on.
Both Chambers had on resumption from the approved the virement of
N242.205 for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and five
security agencies to prosecute the 2019 general elections.
To this end, the principal officers of the Senate and House of
Representatives led by Yussuff Lasun, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the
Senate, Ahmad Lawan held a closed door to deliberate on ‘sensitive’
issues.
The meeting was also attended by Senator Phillip Aduda; Senator
Abiodun Olujimi; Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Adviser to the
President on National Assembly (Senate) and
Suleiman Kawu, Senior Special Adviser to the President on National
Assembly (House).
Meanwhile, the Federal Government’s delegation led by Zainab Ahmed,
Minister of Finance, who was accompanied by Ben Akabueze, Director
General of Budget Office; Patience Oniha, Director General of Debt
Management Office, among others.
While addressing Legislative Correspondents before reverting to
executive session, Yussuff Lasun, Deputy Speaker confirmed that the
meeting was a sensitive one and in tandem with legislative practice.
“Ordinarily this is a meeting we always hold behind closed door
BusinessDay however gathered that the meeting was to deliberate on the
controversial virement and $2.7 billion eurobond.
BusinessDay further gathered that Mustapha Dawaki, Chairman, House
Committee was at the State House to clear air on the rationale behind
the approval to vire the N242 billion from the Constituency project
allocation under the Service Wide Vote as contained in the 2018
Appropriation Act, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Speaker had during the Wednesday plenary session, frowned at the
misgivings trailing the reportage of the N831 billion total budget
approved for the agencies.
BusinessDay gathered that the House Committee on Rules and Business
did a shoddy work on the report submitted by the House Committee on
Appropriation which stipulated the actual breakdown of the amount
approved in the 2018 Appropriation Act and the new virement approved
for INEC and the five security agencies.
In the bid to address the misrepresentation, Speaker Dogara directed
the Committee on Appropriation to circulate the correct documents to
the Media.
Dogara explained that total sum of N242,245,050,100 was approved by
the House is to vired from the Service Wide Vote approved in the 2018
Appropriation Act.
He added that the House had during the Tuesday plenary approved the
sums of N4.3 billion for Office of the Security Adviser; N12.21
billion for Department of State Security (DSS); N3.6 billion for
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); N30.5 billion for
Nigeria Police while N2.6 billion was earmarked for Nigeria
Immigration Service, respectively.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja