Moshood Adebayo and Chinelo Obogo

All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Lagos Assembly is yet to transmit the 2019 budget to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his assent despite passing it into law over three weeks ago. 

The Assembly passed the 2019 budget of N873, 532,460,725 on April 29, following months of face-off between the executive and the legislature.

The House approved N393,841,387,020 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for recurrent expenditure and N479, 691,073,705 from Development Revenue Fund for capital expenditure.

It is an increase by N21.215 billion from the budget presented by Governor Ambode on February 5, 2019, which was N852.317 billion. It is also a decrease from last year’s budget which stood at N1,046 trillion. 

After the bill was passed, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, according to parliamentary tradition, directed the Clerk, Azeez Sanni, to send a copy of the bill to the governor but over three weeks later, Daily Sun can confirm that the budget is yet to be transmitted to the governor.

There has been no official response from the Assembly on why the budget transmission is being delayed. 

Already, there are speculations from within the Assembly that the leadership of the House may hold on to the budget till the swearing-in of the governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. 

Daily Sun sent messages in the early hours of yesterday to the House Ad hoc Committee on Budget and Economic Planning Chairman, Gbolahan Yishawu, to find out the reason for the delay, but till press time, he did not respond to the enquiry.

A message was also sent to Committee on Information Chairman, Funmilayo Tejuosho, but she also did not respond. 

Daily Sun tried to reach the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Habib Aruna, he also did not respond.

Related News

The Assembly had been embroiled in a cold war with Governor Ambode since December 2018 for refusing to lay the Appropriation Bill on the floor of the House, a development which led lawmakers to threaten him with impeachment if he failed to abide by the parliamentary tradition. 

At one of its plenary sessions at the beginning of the year, over 20 lawmakers took turn to accuse the governor of infractions and violation of the constitution for spending from the 2019 budget, which at the time was yet to be laid on the floor of the House.

Earlier this year, a committee headed by the Deputy Speaker, Wasiu  Eshinloku, was set up to probe the 2018 expenditure of the governor. Commissioner for Finance, Accountant General, Budget and Planning Commissioner as well as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice were summoned to appear before the probe panel.

While submitting the report of the committee before the House, the deputy speaker said his panel found Ambode guilty of the allegations against him and said he should either resign or would be impeached.

Eshinlokun revealed that the committee met with relevant commissioners and heads of agencies and was told by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Segun Banjo, that no money had been spent for the year.

He also said the accountant general told the committee that they were given the go-ahead to spend up to 25 percent of the 2019 budget before the approval in the new year.

He said they would have to make a recourse to the House if they wanted to spend up to N200 million.

The crisis further deepened when on Wednesday, January 30, the House convened an emergency parliamentary session over the matter.

Immediately after the session, the Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade, said at a press conference that the House is expecting Governor Ambode to appear before it on Monday, February 4, to explain why the executive had begun spending from a budget which was yet to be presented.

Agunbiade said: “The major issue in contention is the 2019 Appropriation Bill, which by now should have been in the House of Assembly.

“The stipulation in the constitution is that the bill which the governor shall cause to be prepared and laid on the floor of the House, should be done before the commencement of another fiscal year, which is December 2018. “