N/Assembly Okays N2.5bn for Plateau
From Kola Ologbondiyan and Ahamefula Ogbu in Abuja
The two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday in separate but unanimous decision approved the N2.5bn requested by President Olusegun Obasanjo to address the emergency situation in Plateau State by viring the sum of N2bn from the allocation to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), to the contingency vote, which already had N500 million.
Obasanjo had in a letter dated June 16, 2004, requested that since the restoration of contingency vote contained in the 2004 Budget would require a new bill, "I am writing that the request be effected by virement of funds as part of global and comprehensive virement for meaningful implementation of the budget 2004. This would then make it unnecessary to pass a new bill." The Senate and the House of Representatives had recalled its members from recess to approve Obasanjo's request.
Before the decision on virement was arrived at, the Senate Committee on Appropriation and Finance chairman, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, had in a motion titled Virement, Pursuant to Section 3, of Appropriation Act, 2004, stated that, "the National Assembly in the Year 2004 Appropriation Act, provided the sum of N35.3bn for the recurrent expenditure of the Presidency and the parastatals under its supervision.
Senators Emma Anosike (PDP, Anambra State) and Abubakar Sodangi (PDP, Nassarawa State) supported the motion.
The Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Nasir Mantu, who took the floor after, thanked his colleagues for supporting the proclamation of a state of emergency. "People are now moving freely in Plateau State and Senator Cosmos Niangwan (PDP, Plateau State), who just returned from home, said throughout last week he visited the area and I have received delegations from the state who informed me about the state of peace.
The question was then put and carried.
The Senate, however, directed that "if there be any further need for more contingency funds, the service-wide votes of One billion naira only and margin for increased costs vote of five hundred million naira already provided for in the 2004 Act could be applied."
Before the Senate went into session, Wabara had in an opening statement commended his colleagues for coming back again into the "hallowed chambers only three weeks" into the recess.
In the House of Representatives, Speaker Aminu Bello Masari came into the chambers some minutes before 10 am but did not start the day's business till a few minutes before 11am because there were initially less than 70 members present, which falls short of the two-third of the total number needed.
When the House started business, House Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Hon Gabriel Suswan moved the motion asking the members to approve the virement of N2 billion from the operational funds under the office of the National Security Adviser to a contingency vote, which already has N500 million he said was not enough to tackle the problem at hand in Plateau state.
He added that should there be need for more funds for the same purpose, they could fall back to the sum of N1 billion authorized from the service wide vote in the 2004 budget.
Contributing to the debate, Hon Mao Ohuabunwa said the request by the President was in line with the law, but wanted to know what the allocation to the state was being used for and why the money was being approved for the President instead of the State directly.
Leader of the House, Hon Abdul Ningi explained that the statutory allocation of N1.1 billion to the state would not achieve much after N900 million has been deducted for debt servicing. He said the money being vired was for the security and other logistics, which were not contemplated and therefore not contained in the budget.
Chairman of the House committee on Judiciary, Hon Bala Ibn Na'Allah queried how the approved N2 billion was to be applied and under whose supervision, to which Masari replied that a Committee would be set up to monitor the judicious application of the funds.
Hon Chinonyerem Macebuh wondered why the House would be legislating for the State and at the same time be approving money for the presidency. He also noted that the details of how the money would be spent were not specified. Hon Dave Salako, House Committee Chairman on National Planning and Economic Development submitted that all was well because the President did the right thing and added that since the legislators approved the emergency rule, they should also approve the virement.
When the Speaker put the question, it was unanimously carried. He thereafter mandated the Committees on States and Local Government and that on National Security to oversight the expenditure.
|
