News
Hope Fades On 2014 Budget Presentation
Hope for possible presentation of the 2014 Budget by President Goodluck Jonathan to the joint session of the National Assembly this year, may have been lost completely due to indefinite adjournment of conference committee of both the Senate and the House of Representatives on harmonization of oil benchmark for the budget.
In a text message to that effect late yesterday evening, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Eyinnaya Abaribe said the last meeting of the conference committee Thursday evening, ended in stalemate over differential oil bench marks proposal for the budget between the senate and the House of Representatives members.
Abaribe who is also a member of the committee said: “The last meeting of the conference committee ended in stalemate. There was no agreement because despite the Senate members of the committee shifting to $77per barrel as oil benchmark for the budget from the previous position of $76.5 per barrel, Hon Members from the House remained adamant on their earlier proposed $79per barrel which resulted into adjournment of the meeting sine die (indefinitely).”
This is a worrying development that is foreclosing possible presentation of the budget this year, more so, as the National Assembly winds up legislative activities for this year next Thursday, December 19, 2013.
Before the indefinite adjournment, the committee had met twice, Tuesday and Wednesday to find a common ground for the oil benchmark for the budget, but twice, the meeting ended in deadlock.
The Executive had proposed an oil benchmark of $74 per barrel for the budget, but the Senate and House of Representatives fixed it at $76.5 and $79 respectively.
The disagreement between the two chambers forced President Jonathan not to present the budget on Tuesday November 19th 2013 for the two chambers to harmonize their positions.
It would be recalled that when the committee met on Wednesday this week, following the disagreement between the two chambers and the insistence of each chamber on its earlier position, members of House of Representatives reportedly walked out on the senate.
Another source privy to the meeting said that after heated argument and pleading for the House of Representatives to shift ground from their position and it could not work out, the committee “adjourned sine die.”
According to the source, “what this portends is that the 2014 budget will not be presented till next year.”
President Jonathan had attributed his failure to address the joint session of the National Assembly to the disagreement on the oil benchmark as the reason and advised the two chambers to harmonize their positions.
The budget presentation suffered setback twice on November 12, where it was claimed that the non passage of the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper by the two chambers and again on November 19, where the disagreement between the two chambers on the oil benchmark was given as the reason.
The reason adduced for the first postponement was in respect of Section 18 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act which stated that, “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework shall be the basis for the preparation of the estimates of revenue and expenditure required to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly under Section 81 (1) of the Constitution.
“The sectoral and compositional distribution of the estimates of the expenditure referred to in Subsection 1 of this section shall be consistent with the medium term developmental priorities set out in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
It was expected that after the passage of MTEF and FSP, President Jonathan would have easy ride in the proposed budget presentation but that was not to be as the President cited non harmonization of oil benchmark between the two chambers as the reason behind the non presentation.
At the November 19, botched presentation, in his letter to the Senate, with the title, ‘Re-2014 Budget’, President Jonathan recalled that he had earlier written to the Senate to grant him the slot of 12 noon to enable him address a Joint Session of the National Assembly on the budget.
“However, considering the fact whereas the distinguished senate has approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, based on a benchmark of $76.5 per barrel, the Honorable House of Representatives has used a benchmark of $79 per barrel, it is infeasible for me to present the budget in the absence of a harmonized position on the MTEF.
“In the circumstance, it has become necessary to defer the presentation of the 2014 Budget to a Joint Session of the National Assembly until such a time when both respected chambers would have harmonized their positions on the MTEF. It is my hope that this will be in the shortest possible time,” the President said.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.