Both the Senate and House of Representatives have taken a decision to seek further guidance on how to handle the alleged constitutional breach by President Muhammadu Buhari in authorising the payment of $496 million to the US government without approval from the National Assembly.
At the Senate, yesterday, April 26, resolution to seek further guidance followed a motion moved by the Chairman, Senate Public Accounts Committee, Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo State) who called on the upper legislative chamber to invoke Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution by impeaching the President.
But Senate President Bukola Saraki who presided over plenary, referred the matter to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for legal advice.
Saraki ordered the panel chaired by David Umoru (APC, Niger State) to submit its report to plenary on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.
Moving the motion, Urhoghide submitted that it was procedurally wrong for the President to have withdrawn the money without permission from the National Assembly. He submitted that by the President’s action, Section 80 of the constitution has been grossly violated.
There are consequences for such gross violations of the constitution, he said. He called on the Senate to simply invoke section 143 to get the President removed from office.
Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu State), who backed the motion, said the time has come for the Senate to invoke the impeachment clause to check against the series of abuse of laid down governance procedures by the executive.
Saraki, recalled that the leadership of the Senate was informed of the proposal to purchase aircrafts by the United States Congress as far back as August 2017.
While stressing that there has been a breach of the constitution, he wondered why it took President Buhari so long to inform the legislature.
“We all agree that from what has been presented to us, there is a breach of constitution. The question is, what are the circumstances surrounding the breach of the constitution? Whether those circumstances justify the breach of constitution,” Saraki argued that Buhari had enough time to seek the approval of the National Assembly but declined to do so.
“Between September and February, with all due respect, there was ample time for the executive to have carried us along on this issue. It was after we agreed in September that the US government went back to give approval to the executive to pay to their own government so they can go ahead and sell this equipment to Nigeria. If we all agree, I will put it to vote and refer the matter to the judiciary and give them a short period of time, that by Wednesday next week, they submit it.”
Sam Anyanwu, (PDP) noted that what the President has done was similar to the anticipatory spending for which former Senate President Chuba Okadigbo was removed.
He argued that the letter sent to the Senate by the President was an admittance of his guilt.
Anyanwu suggested that the provisions of the constitution regarding the breach be strictly applied to serve as deterrent to subsequent Presidents.
But the Senate Deputy leader, Bala Ibn Na’Alla, rose to suggest that the Senate should refer the matter to its Committee on Judiciary for legal advice.
Similarly, at the House Representatives, after a heated debate on the constitutionality and procedure Buhari’s request to approve money that has already been spent, the House resolved to verify whether there was precedence by any legislative House in other climes that embarked on approval of already spent fund without prior approval of the National Assembly.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara who presided over the session, acknowledged that the issue surrounding the request was controversial, hence requires further consultation including previous antecedents in other climes.
Dogara who earlier noted that the 2017 Appropriation bill was passed into law in May 2017, argued that Nigeria still has an active budget till May, 2018.
He however noted that: “I don’t think as a matter of law, there’s a straight forward answer to this…yet on the other hand, we are duty bound to consider it.”
He disclosed that President Buhari’s request as contained in the letter “to make appropriation for expenditure,” was in breach of the Constitutional provisions which empowers National Assembly to appropriate for revenue, as encapsulated in section 80 of the 1999 Constitution.
While stressing the need for the House to be properly guided before taking further action, Dogara stressed that “people are looking unto this House to protect the Constitution, people are looking to us to stand by the truth,” just as he observed that the House has additional responsibility of putting national interest at the front above personal interest.
To this end, he mandated the House Committee on Rules and Business to check the archive for precedence in other climes.
But Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP-Delta) urged that the House should not endorse illegality perpetuated by the anticipatory approval given by President Buhari.
The Delta lawmaker maintained that the President through the letter admitted to have breached the provision of the Constitution.
On his part, Sergius Ogun (PDP-Edo), noted that failure to take decisive action by invoking relevant sections of the Constitution for such a grievous breach, will turn the Parliament into laughing stock.
He argued that the House will continue to be scandalized and rubbished if such approval is granted.
Also speaking, Frederick Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) argued that the motion was in conflict with extant procedure and convention, adding that any issue relating to finance and budget should come by way of bill not motion.
Lovette Idisi (PDP-Delta) urged the House not to fall into the trap set by the Executive, arguing that “what we have been asked to do is to indict ourselves. Most of us are lawyers here.” He maintained that the request of Buhari was unconstitutional and that section 36(8) prohibits retrospective approval of such request or legislation.
However, Kayode Oladele (APC-Ogun), Simon Arabo (PDP) noted that the 2018 budget is still in the works, and maintained that the President’s request was in order and can still be accommodated in the 2018 budget.
Meanwhile the Senate has called for sanction of officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) involved in illegal payment of fuel subsidy in 2017 worth N216.9 billion.
The upper legislative chamber observed that while there was no request for subsidy in the 2018 budget, the Corporation was still paying itself the amount under the guise of ‘operating cost’.
It also mandated the Corporation to stop the illegal payments without appropriation, even as it asked the state-owned oil firm to make a formal request to the National Assembly for appropriation for the payments.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee made the recommendations in its report on the investigation into the illegal subsidy payments, which was adopted by the Senate at Thursday plenary.
Presenting his report, Chairman of the committee, Matthew Urhoghide, revealed that the Federal Government spent N3.8 trillion on subsidy payment between 2010 and 2016.
The upper legislative chamber also asked its Committee on Appropriation as well as Public Accounts to liaise with the Executive to submit the appropriation for subsidy to be included in the 2018 budget still under consideration by the National Assembly.
Furthermore, it also mandated the Auditor General of the Federation to carry out an audit of NNPC’s account over the last five years.
Other recommendations of the panel adopted by the panel included the need for the Federal Government to pay oil marketers the outstanding subsidy arrears owed them prior to 2017 as well as giving local refineries maximum attention to enable them function in optimal capacity.
In their separate contributions, senators including George Akume, Chukwuka Utazi and Binta Garba Masi expressed concern about the recommendations of the committee, pointing out there was no serious sanction for those who approved the subsidy monies spent by the Corporation without recourse to the National Assembly.
Giving a breakdown of the N3.8 trillion subsidy payment, the panel observed that while the government spent N491 billion in 2010, it expended N245 billion in 2011 and N888 billion in 2012.
Others are N1.9 trillion in 2013 and 2014, N100 billion in 2015 while that of 2016 gulped N150 billion.
“In 2017, NNPC imported 9.8 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit at the cost of USD5,483,634,448.91 amounting to N1,672,508,506,917.55 at the exchange rate of N305. In the previous years, all importers including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had collected subsidy for differentials.
“It is therefore curious that NNPC will in Year 2017, describe the differentials as ‘operating cost’ and a loss but will not demand for refund,” the committee observed.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, and KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
