Senator Shehu Sani
Senator Shehu Sani (APC/Kaduna Central) has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of the 2018 Appropriation Bill regardless of his considerations over the modifications made by the National Assembly.
The Executive had submitted a price range proposal of N8.612 trillion to the federal lawmakers on 7 November, 2017.
But the Legislature elevated the proposal by N508 billion to N9.12 trillion, once they handed the Bill on 16 May, 2018.
The Nigerian chief, after signing the handed invoice into legislation on Wednesday, raised some considerations over the alterations.
As acknowledged by the commander in chief, the federal lawmakers made reductions amounting to N347bn within the allocations to four,700 tasks submitted to them for consideration and launched 6,403 tasks of their very own amounting to N578bn.
“The logic behind the constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that, it is the Executive that knows & defines its policies & projects,” the president had mentioned.
“Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me. The National Assembly made cuts amounting to N347 billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion.”
In his response, Sani requested, “Why ought to Mr President, a particular person identified for less than doing what is correct and at all times proper append his signature to a doc he considers fraudulent or doubtful or filled with insertions or subtractions?
“Who is that so highly effective to compel the President to do what's flawed?
“The Committee On Appropriation publicity stated that the adjustment was done in concert and concord with the Ministers. Why is there no denial yet? And If the Ministers acted without the consent of the President why are they not yet fired?”
He additionally mentioned, “I can verify that the related individuals within the Senate will level by level reply to the problems raised by Mr President. One facet of the story can't produce a truthful judgment.
“The President supposed to reject and return the Budget and not sign on what he considers wrong. Signatures should reflect our conscience and not our compulsion.”