Reps In Rowdy Session; As PDP Crisis Polarises House …Decry Low 2013 Budget Implementation

It was a rowdy session as the House of Representatives resumed plenary yesterday.
Members engaged in a shouting match when the letter from the New Peoples Democratic Party requesting to visit the House was read.
The letter was signed by the factional PDP’s National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
For about 30 minutes, pro-Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and pro-Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje members of the House elected on the platform of the PDP engaged in fisticuffs.
They screamed on top of their voices and in the process, the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, was thrown into confusion as key members made their way towards him to offer advice.
To douse tension, Speaker Tambuwal announced that Alhaji Bamanga Tukur also wrote to visit the House but withdrew it later.
Tambuwal said: “There was a communication from our leader, Bamanga Tukur, to address the PDP caucus, but he withdrew his letter this morning and that was why I couldn’t read it.”
A PDP member representing Rivers State, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, moved a motion under point of order.
Chinda said, “we are united.”People watching what happened on the floor will misinterpret it to mean that we are divided.”
The lawmaker was of the opinion that various publications at recent were meant to cause ill feelings amongst members.
Consequently, he moved a vote of confidence on the Speaker and it was overwhelmingly passed.
After the vote of confidence was passed, Tambuwal read his speech titled: “We Must Remain Focused.”
It reads in part: “Most of our people still can’t afford to live decently. They still can’t afford quality education for their children or good healthcare for their families. They still don’t have those basic needs of life – from clean water to adequate security and regular power supply that other nations take for granted. This means there remains a whole lot more to be done.
“Recently, the polity has witnessed sustained heat generated by both inter-party and intra-party squabbles. This is not all together unexpected given the approach of 2015. What is worrisome however is that these squabbles have further exposed the weaknesses of intra party democratic culture and inter-party intolerance. These are viruses, we must resolve to dispense with in order to sanitize the political space.
“I wish to caution that we exercise the highest restraint to the obvious distractions that the approaching 2015 is bound to bring so that we do not lose our focus in the diligent pursuit of our mandate. The proper timing for 2015 will surely come and at that time, we shall do the needful.
“We also hope to amend the Electoral Act again to see how we can ensure that no one takes unfair advantage of the existing loopholes to rig elections. The fact is that until we can ensure that each vote counts in this country, the people will always be taken for granted by their leaders. We therefore want to produce a solid Electoral Act, comparable to any in the world and able to stand the test of time.
“Budget implementation still remains a sore point of governance. The level of implementation of the 2013 capital appropriation is way below expectation given the early submission by the Executive and equally early passage by the Legislature. We have consistently advised that the procurement process be employed in a value added manner rather than the slavish adherence to and unproductive worship of procedures. It would appear that not much progress has been made in that regard.
“So far by the information and statistics at our disposal there would appear to be no justification for this state of affairs. However in order to be comprehensively guided, all the Committees of the House will proceed on one week of oversight to Ministries, Departments and Agencies at the end of which they shall submit their reports to the Committees on legislative Budget and Research and that of Legislative Compliance, then, the two Committees will collate same and submit a joint report to plenary for consideration. This report will guide the House in the consideration of the 2014 budget proposals.
“In an Interim Report to Leadership, the Ad hoc Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) reported that public hearings on the bill had been successfully conducted in the six geo political zones and Abuja. The importance of this bill to the economy can not be overemphasized, accordingly the committee is hereby directed to expedite work and submit it’s report to the House soonest.”
Tambuwal told the Baraje group: “As politicians and leaders, we are deeply concerned about developments in the country in recent weeks, especially the face-off within our party. This development once again expose our vulnerability and the status of the culture of intra-party democracy and tolerance.
“Political parties and the political structure means that democracy can only flourish when there are strong political parties and well developed institutions and firmly entrenched democratic culture. It is important also that, as politicians, we constantly remind ourselves that the democracy we preach belongs to the entire Nigerian people and not politicians alone.
“Indeed, all Nigerians fought to install this democracy and many paid the supreme price with their lives in the process, therefore, we must not by our actions thwart the supreme sacrifices made by our heroes past with levity.
“While acknowledging that political parties are vehicles through which we pursue our ambitions and aspirations we must all conduct ourselves strictly within the confines of our Constitution.
“I wish to caution that Nigerians need peaceful atmosphere to conduct their lives and business endeavors, I make bold to say that we, card-carrying members of political parties form not more than 25 percent of the population of this country.
“We must therefore, abstain from heating up the polity unnecessarily, we must not take the rest of Nigerians for granted. We should not over reach our goodwill and over task which the goodwill of Nigerians imposes on us.
“Let us therefore make conscious effort to allow national interest take the driving seat and not our personal ambitions.”
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, in Abuja yesterday decried the low implementation level of the 2013 capital budget.
Tambuwal, who made the remarks in an address of welcome to members from the seven-week recess, said that the budget implementation still remained a sore point of governance in the country.
“The level of implementation of the 2013 capital appropriation is below expectation given the early submission by the Executive and early passage by the Legislature.
“We have consistently advised that the procurement process be employed in a value added manner rather than the adherence to and unproductive worship of procedures,” he said.
Tambuwal said that in spite of the early passage of the budget by the National Assembly, not much progress had been made in that regard.
“So far by the information and statistics at our disposal, there is no justification for this state of affairs,’’ he said.
The speaker said that based on the poor state of implementation of the budget, all committees of the House would proceed on oversight to all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi (2nd right), with the G7 governors and Senate President, David Mark (5th left) in a group photograph, during a courtesy visit at the Senate in Abuja, yesterday.