A lawmaker has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has no right to tamper with the approved budget – He said failure to assent the bill would amount to starting a new presentation – He advised President Buhari to listen to ministers in his cabinet Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Lawmaker dares President
Muhammadu Buhari on budget Lawmaker dares President Muhammadu Buhari on budget Senator Rowland Owie, the former Senate whip has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has no right to tamper with the approved budget as submitted by the National Assembly, The Vanguard reports. President Buhari had ruled out the possibility of quickly signing the 2016 budget passed by the National Assembly adding that he will have to scrutinise it before he appends his signature. In his reaction, Owie warned that failure to assent to appropriation bill would amount to starting a new presentation. The lawmaker stressed that refusal to sign or alteration from the already approved budget, would amount to taking the country to yet another five months of going through a fresh presentation, first reading, second reading, committee stage, among others. He advised the president to listen to Udoma Udo Udoma, minister of budget and planning and Ita Enang, the special assistant on National Assembly matters (Senate) who are experienced in legislative matters. READ ALSO: ‘It is a budget that everybody is included’ – Lai Mohammed “I want to advise Mr. President to go ahead and assent to the budget after that whatever he feels he wants to do, he can then send it back to the National Assembly while he is scrutinizing if and if he does not do that and he goes ahead to change a line of the budget, it will take another five months, it will start afresh from first reading to second reading to committee level. “Mr. President should note that he can never get a budget the way it was sent to NASS or state Assembly, NASS has the right to re-introduce new items into the budget, right to reduce the amount, or decrease or remove it totally, it is the function of the National Assembly, no one can do that. If the president changes anything, he has to return the budget again to NASS, it will start again from first reading to second reading to committee stage. READ ALSO: I will sign the 2016 budget after critical review – Buhari “If he tampers with it, he has to return it to NASS and start from zero point meaning that this year, we may not have a budget and in view of the above, I ask the President to assent to the budget and start implementing those areas he has no problem with, the begin to look at others and if he does not do this, he will run Nigeria into crisis. “My worry is that Mr. President is not listening to advise from the minister of budget and national planning and a former senate chief whip, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma and his special assistant, Senator Ita Enang who is also very knowledgeable on National Assembly matters or is it that he may not be taking their inputs,” he added.
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