Dogara: People instigating fight over budget

Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the federal house of representatives, has alleged that some people are trying to instigate a fight over the budget.

But he said although the national assembly has the constitutional power to override the president’s veto over the budget, the lawmakers would not go that route.

“In this situation we are not there, even if there are discussions and people instigating a fight. We know that as leaders, our responsibility is not to fight,” he said.

“It is one government and this government will take the active collaboration of the judiciary, legislature and the executive to be able to deliver on the mandate. We cannot form an opposition within the same government. The executive cannot constitute itself into an opposition within the system in the same government, neither can the parliament, even though it is a bipartisan one.”

He was speaking on Thursday when he received a delegation of All Progressives Congress (APC) elders and stakeholders from Kwande/Oshongo federal constituency of Benue state.

“We know that our people cannot wait forever for the budget; and as a responsible government, we cannot afford to go sleep on this. As we speak to you, I know that the executive has sent their observations on the budget, areas they termed grey areas,” he said.

“We’ve taken delivery of that document. We are looking into it and in collaboration with the senate, the entire national assembly, we have arrived at a decision, which I will not announce here because that one is for the ears of Mr President only.

“It is in the overall national interest, we know that we have to find a solution and sooner than later, within this week, I believe that as leaders, having put on our thinking caps, we should be able to come up with a solution that will address this problem.”

Dogara added that the role of the executive is to provide budget estimates, while the legislature prepares the estimates into an appropriation law.

“The truth is that even though it is the responsibility of the parliament, constitutionally speaking, to prepare the budget – because I haven’t seen any region anywhere in the world where the executive does that – the constitution recognizes that the executive will prepare the estimates and revenues and present it before parliament and then the parliament, in exercise of its duties, will make appropriation in a document called budget.

“Budget is always a law; it is not a policy statement and there is no government arm, no institution of government that can make laws except the national assembly. And we have exercised that constitutional right and privilege, which is exclusively reserved for the national assembly using the document that is before the president.

“And as we all know, a law requires the assent of the president; that is, one of the instrumentalities of checks and balances that democracy guarantees and if it is not assented to after some time then the parliament can summon the courage if they can to say they are overriding the veto powers of the president or say the bill will have to commence de novo.”