The National Assembly may reconvene next week to consider the N242 billion 2019 election budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This was the outcome of a meeting between the leadership of the National Assembly and that of the Commission in Abuja on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists on the outcome of the meeting, INEC chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, said the National Assembly leadership had assured them of speedy consideration of the elections budget.
“The most important thing to say was was INEC was invited to meet with National Assembly leadership on how the proposed budget for the 2019 elections can be speedily considered and appropriated by NASS. We have been assured of speedy passage of the budget perhaps as early as next week,” he said.
Save for the Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, our correspondent observed all Principal Officers at the meeting with INEC leadership are members of the PDP, as other APC Principal Officers were conspicuously absent.
The Presidency had appealed to the National Assembly to cut short its two-month break to consider an approval for N242 billion budget estimates from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conduct of the 2019 election, which is just seven months away.
Lawmakers had embarked on annual recess on July 24 and adjourned till September 25, 2018.
President Buhari in the letter dated July 17, 2018 explained that out of the proposed N242,445,322,600 estimate for the 2019 general elections, N164.104 billion should be appropriated through virement this year, while the balance of N78.340billon should be provided for in 2019.
Recall that the meeting of the leadership of the National Assembly with the Commission’s top management earlier scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed due to invasion of the Complex by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Answering questions from journalists earlier, Senate President Bukola Saraki blamed the Executive arm of government for late submission of the 2019 elections budget.
He wondered why the Executive could not present the proposal alongside the 2018 budget which President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on November 7, 2017.
The nation’s Number Three Citizen who doubles as Chairman of the National Assembly, also hinted that the Legislature may reconvene to consider the 2019 elections budget.
Saraki said: “On the issue of INEC request, it is amazing why nobody is asking. Is it the day that we were leaving that INEC realised that they had a budget? There was January, February, March, April, May, June. Nothing came from the Executive to say we need money for INEC until July when we were leaving. But be that as it may, we are ready to support the Executive at all times. And I will let something out: since we went on recess, even before these problems, both myself and Speaker of the House of Representatives, have met with the Chairman of INEC to tell us what are the issues. And this conversation has been going on. So, we will do all that is necessary. As I said, if it needs us coming back because we have not even committed it to committees yet. It just came as a letter we read on the floor. It still has to go to committee. Even with the support of our members, we will do that. And that was our plan that we wanted to do yesterday (Tuesday). But the condition was not conducive for us to hold the meeting. As we were walking in here, myself and the leadership (of the National Assembly), we said since we are here we have already sent for the INEC Chairman to come so that the meeting we could not hold yesterday (Tuesday), let us hold it immediately now. And if after discussing with him and there is need for us to reconvene so that we can send it to committee, we will do that. We want a free and credible election. But what we don’t like is where the wrong message is being sent out. Whereas we are talking about from July to now, Executive from last year, they knew there was going to be a budget. Why was it not included in the 2018 budget?
“After you submitted the 2018 budget, you had December, January, February, March, April, May, June. So to say today that National Assembly is the one that does not want election is not true. I want to assure you on that and any other matter that is important that needs to be addressed, we will do it”.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
