From Kemi Yesufu and Fred Itua, Abuja
THERE was renewed optimism yesterday on the 2016 national budget as both the Senate and House of Representatives finally laid their reports, three months after President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the budget estimates to a joint session of the National Assembly.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, laid the report before the Red Chamber at about 10.30am, while chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Abdulmumin Jibrin did the same at the Green Chambers.
However, debate did not commence on the report in any of the chambers. Unlike the usual tradition, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, did not make any remarks after the presentation.
The budget ought to have been passed on February 25, but was shifted to March 17. The shift was blamed on alleged padding of the budget by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government.
It was not clear whether or not it would be deliberated today in the Senate as no lawmaker made any comments after the laying of the document.
It could not also be established if the budget would be passed before the Senate embarks on Easter break. Similarly, other businesses lined up for the day were set aside barely 30 minutes after it convened. The Senate adjourned at about 11am and is expected to reconvene today.
But in a brief presentation at the Hoise plenary presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, the lawmaker, gave a breakdown of the budget to have a total of N6.77 trillion out of which N351 billion is for statutory transfers and Nl.475 trillion for debt service.
He also said N2.648 trillion is for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while the sum of Nl.845 trillion inclusive of Nl.57 billion is for statutory transfers and N86 billion as interest on capitalised loans is for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure for the year ending on the 31st Day of December, 2016.
But the House failed to adopt the report on the 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
The 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) of the Federal Government of Nigeria was passed by the House on Thursday, December 17, 2015 and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.
Immediately after the laying and adoption of the 2016 Appropriations Bill, the House adjourned in accordance with it standing rules in honour of Musa Baba Owana representing Nasarawa/Toto Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State who died on Thursday, March 17.
“Today is a sad day for us, but for the overriding interest of the country, we will take only one item on the order paper, which of course is the 2016 budget and we adjourn sitting,” Dogara said.
It is expected that the House will debate the bill today and may also pass as it in order to adjourn for the Easter holiday.
Shortly after President Buhari submitted the budget estimates on December 22, 2015 to a joint session of the National Assembly, there were reports that the document was withdrawn for re-drafting.
On January 18, Daily Sun exclusively reported how the Presidency withdrew the budget over claims that the version Buhari laid before the National Assembly was not the same version his aide presented for consideration.
The controversy lingered until Buhari formally withdrew the budget and replaced it with a ‘final’ version.