Resolving Budget Imbroglio

Few days after the passage of the 2017 Federal Appropriation Bill, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, reechoed the concerns already expressed by some of his counterparts and the Acting President himself as regards inputs made into the budget by the National Assembly.
Fashola was reported to have told newsmen a few days ago in Lagos, that the N7.44 trillion budget that the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo signed into law recently, was hugely tampered with by the federal lawmakers. According to him, the National Assembly made budgetary allocations and figures that were alien to what the executive submitted for consideration.
The Minister alleged that the National Assembly reduced the allocation for the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from N31 billion to N10 billion only, while it also slashed that of the Second Niger Bridge from N15 billion to N10 billion, among others.
In the same breath, the Minister accused the lawmakers of adding to the budget of his ministry 10 new roads to the uncompleted 200 he inherited, attributing the delay in the signing of the budget into law by the Acting President to these distortions.
The Tide notes that since returning to civil rule in 1999, Nigeria has seemed not to have gotten over this annual executive/legislature face-off over Appropriation Bills. The controversy has always centred on whether the National Assembly (NASS) has the power or not to tinker with budget estimates prepared and presented by the executive arm of government.
Sections 80 and 81 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended, which deal with the Appropriation Act has been variously interpreted by the two arms of government as well as eminent constitutional jurists.
While the executive insists that it has the exclusive power to prepare the budget and lay it before the National Assembly for considerations, the legislative arm claims constitutional authority to tinker with the budget, relying on its power of appropriation.
This face-off, over the years, has not only generated debate and dissipation of energy even among the populace, but has also caused much bad blood between the executive and the legislature to the detriment of effective and efficient running of the affairs of government and with huge cost to the Nigerian people.
Only recently, just few days after assenting to the 2017 Appropriation Bill, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, said that the National Assembly lacked the constitutional right to effect changes in the proposals made without recourse to the executive. As a result, the Presidency threatened to approach the Supreme Court for a definite pronouncement on the powers of the legislature.
Reacting swiftly, the Senate urged the executive not to misconstrue its readiness for consultation to mean that it was prepared to give up its powers under the Constitution as regards appropriation, while the House of Representatives declared that it would never be a rubber stamp to the executive.
It is in view of the foregoing that The Tide wishes to urge the Federal Government to speedily make good its threat to approach the Supreme Court for a conclusive determination of the matter without further delay.
Conversely, we believe that the National Assembly can as well take the initiative to bring the matter before the apex court of the land to seek elucidation and clarification with a view to achieving closure on the vexed issue.
The Tide is absolutely positive that this measure, if quickly taken, will save the 2018 and subsequent budgets the unfortunate fate that befell the previous ones since 1999. Furthermore, a definite pronouncement on  the issue will also achieve for Nigerians all the gains and benefits of seamless passage of budgets in time and faithful execution.
There is no gainsaying the fact that a country that is desirous of speedy development as Nigeria must clean up its budgeting process in order to move forward. It is most regrettable that, Nigeria’s budgeting is not only encumbered with such issues as late preparation, presentation, passage and assent, but also has a strange word called ‘padding’ now introduced into the nation’s budgeting lexicon.
The Tide is fully persuaded that for us to save our country, the fight against corruption must be taken to all the nooks and crannies of our national life, of which the budgeting process is a very critical component. This is why we expect the executive and the National Assembly to rise up to the challenge of enthroning a budgeting process that is open, transparent and devoid of controversies and contentions. And time is of essence here. The perennial budget imbroglio must stop.