NASS probes lawmakers colluding with MDAs to bypass Buhari
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Investigation is expected to begin this week of federal lawmakers who collude with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to approve and transmit their budgets to them without knowledge and approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari himself lodged the complaint when he presented the 2023 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly (NASS) on 7 October.
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee on Public Accounts has confirmed the allegation in correspondence with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and NASS Clerk Amos Ojo.
By law, the President is to transmit MDA budgets to the NASS and the NASS Clerk is to transmit passed budgets back to Aso Rock for implementation.
But when Buhari presented the 2023 Appropriation Bill on 7 October he slammed committees bypassing him and approving budgets for MDAs.
“Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members, you may recall that we earlier integrated the budget of Government-Owned Enterprises into the FGN’s 2019 budget submission. This has helped to enhance the comprehensiveness and transparency of the FGN budget,” Buhari said.
“It has, however, come to my attention that Government-Owned Enterprises liaise directly with relevant NASS committees to have their budget passed and issued to them directly.
“I would like to implore the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure that the budget I lay here today, which includes those of the GOEs, be returned to the Presidency when passed.
“The current practice where some committees of the National Assembly purport to pass budgets for GOEs, which are at variance with the budgets sanctioned by me, and communicate such directly to the MDAs, is against the rules and needs to stop.”
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NASS queries committee Chairmen
House Public Accounts Committee Chairman Oluwole Oke told The PUNCH chairmen of the erring committees have been queried for passing budgets illegally.
“We are just resuming now. I am sure from next week [this week], you will start seeing them appearing [before the committee],” he said.
“Before Mr President made that submission, we had written the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Clerk to the National Assembly to show us proof that these agencies’ budgets passed through the normal legislative processes.
“The Public Accounts Committee (of the House) raised the alarm.”
On whether his committee would be thorough with the probe as fellow lawmakers are involved, Oke riposted the lawmakers on the panel are accountable to the public.
“The Public Accounts Committee is a committee created by the Constitution. Why wouldn’t we? We are accountable to Nigerians. If we were not going to be fair, do you think we would have raised the alarm or issue such a resolution?”
