Senate President, Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan said on Monday that the National Assembly is looking forward to receiving final copy of the budget from its committees in Appropriation by November 28 and pass the budget before the Christmas break.
The Senate President also disclosed that between October 30 and November 5, 2019, the various committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives are expected to defend their presentations before the committees on appropriation, adding that the October 29 deadline for budget defence was sacrosanct.
He also said that the current National Assembly was not a rubber stamp to anybody, but only collaborating with the Executive in the overall national interest.
The Senate President, however, frown at insistences of government signing agreements with labour unions, especially those in the education sector which are not implemented, adding that strikes have had adverse effect on the nation’s educational system.
The Senate President said even though the legislature will disagree with the Executive on things they consider not right, they will not go to the market place to fight them over such issues, but will sit down with them and resolve their differences in the overall national interest.
The Senate President stressed that the legislature is the only arm of government that can represent the people adequately, take time and carry out timely legislations on matters that will enhance good governance and therefore will not renege on that responsibility.
Speaking a the 3rd convocation of the University of Benin/National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) postgraduate programme in Abuja, the Senate President said it was unfortunate that Nigerians often misunderstand the role of the legislature in governance.
He said “Some people might say that we are rubber stamp. I don’t see how we have become rubber stamp. We are working on the budget and if we see any area we don’t agree with, we will say so because we have to do the right thing until we are able to get the budget processed and passed.
“When it comes to implementation, it could be lopsided and some parts may not get the right projects. So, we have to ensure that we do the right thing. In our relationship with the executive arm, we are not going to fight. We will disagree with them.
“By design, the executive and legislature have roles that are complementary but there are perspectives that we differ. But when we disagree, we don’t have to go to the market to fight. We should be able to sit down and talk over those disagreements on the basis of what the national interest is.
“So, we will continue to have a relationship that is based on cooperation, synergy and partnership. We are not going to compromise on what we think is not right, but we are going to give the executive wholehearted support for whatever it is that will make life better for Nigerians.”
He said further that as a way of educating Nigerians on the functions of the legislature, the National Assembly, in 2018 introduced the Open NASS week to give Nigerians the opportunity to be part of the legislative process.
He said: “This legislature, like everywhere else, is the most misunderstood arm of government. Majority of those who elected us don’t know what we are supposed to do and it is our duty to let them know. We have to do it in whatever way we can.
“We introduced the open NASS week which we started last year and we will continue with that because we have to open the National Assembly for member of the public who elected us to know what we are doing so that when we ask for resources to work and work better and be more productive and efficient, you will understand.
“It is not going to be easy, but we have to be patient and continue to be steadfast. We have to continue to talk about what we do and practicalise it. We need those who are trained to help us do the right thing, produce the right kind of legislations and when we do oversight, particularly in the Senate, this time our oversight functions will change.”
He said further that the current leadership of the National Assembly will ensure openness and transparency in their oversight functions, saying “We want to have oversight where reports of oversights are presented at plenary. We want to do our work as patriotically as possible.
“However, that does not mean we will have unnecessary confrontation or rancour with the executive arm of government. Our relationship so far has been excellent and wonderful.
“We have seen during the budget defence that the President himself, after presenting the budget in a record time, directed his Ministers and Heads of Agencies not to travel out of the country without defending their budget.
“Members of the National Assembly have committed themselves more than ever before to make sure that budget defence is completed”.
The Senate President who is also the Chairman of the National Assembly insisted that the October 29th target for budget defence remains, saying “we are on course and we hope that from the 30th of October to the 5th of November, we expect all our committees to defend their budget before the Appropriation Committees of both the Senate and the House.
“We are desirous and determined to ensure that the budget is laid on the 28th day of November in both chambers. We want to ensure that we pass the budget before the end of December when we will go for Christmas and New Year break.
“So, we are determined to tow this part because it is the part to follow. What have we gained from a distorted and irregular budget cycle? The Nigerian economy depends largely on public expenditure and until the government sends money to pay contractors, nothing moves. That means that we need a budget circle that start early enough.
“January is good enough because to provide stability and provide a chance for our business people to plan what they can do. In fact the economy will be better when we start implementing our budget in January and finish in December.
“Going forward, we also intend to ensure that the budget we pass is implemented. Of course, we know our constraints and it will be subject to the availability of revenue. Today, Nigeria is challenged by availability of revenue. We can pass the budget in record time, but when it comes to implementation, we have to be subject to how much we are able to gather.
“Nigeria has a lot of revenue, but majority of the revenue-generating agencies don’t remit most of these revenues and have forced the government to resort to borrowing. I think the time has come for the National Assembly to engage with the revenue-generating agencies to know what their challenges are.
“Once they have target, we must ensure that they meet the target and when they are not able to meet the target, we should find out why? Is it institutional problem or a systemic issue? Is there something we can do in the National Assembly to make them better or is it something that the Executive would have to do for us to get these revenues?
“We have so many areas of revenue generation every day and yet, we hardly see these revenues. I think it is a big challenge to the National Assembly and this National Assembly will go all the way, take the bull by the horn and look for our revenue where ever they are. We don’t have to continue to borrow.
“When you are a little poorer, you start looking for who is owing you. Now we have problem and if we had surplus before and ignore so many things, today, there is paucity of fund and so every single kobo counts and we will look for that where ever it is.”
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