Sallah forces Reps to postpone resumption

The House of Representatives has
postponed by one week its anticipated
resumption, naijatonic learnt in Abuja on
Sunday.
This also implies that the expected action
of the 360-member legislature on the
budget padding allegations levelled against
the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and three
other principal officers, will be delayed by
at least one week.
The other three are the Deputy Speaker, Mr.
Yussuff Lasun; the Chief Whip, Mr.
Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority
Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.
Lawmakers proceeded on their annual
recess on July 20 and were scheduled to
reconvene on September 13.
Findings by The PUNCH showed on Sunday
that the resumption date had been
postponed by one week due to the
forthcoming Eid-el Kabir festivities.
A senior National Assembly official stated
on Sunday, “The Sallah proper will be on
Monday, September 12, just one day to the
original resumption date.
“Taken that the Federal Government will
naturally declare Monday and Tuesday
(September 13) as public holidays to mark
the Sallah, it is no longer feasible for the
House to reconvene on September 13.
“We are now looking at a date from
Tuesday, September 20.”
Meanwhile, a former Deputy Minority Whip
of the House, Mr. Garba Dhatti, confirmed
to naijatonic on Sunday that the
resumption would be delayed by “three
weeks.”
Dhatti, who is still a serving member,
stated, “The end of recess will now be up to
three weeks (September 20).
“It has to be after Sallah, which you know
is Monday (September 12).”
The development came as the Chief Whip of
the 7th House (2011-2015), Mr. Ishaka
Bawa, told naijatonic that there was
“nothing abnormal” for Dogara and other
principal officers to receive higher
allocations for intervention or constituency
projects in the 2016 budget.
Bawa said in every budget year, principal
officers were allocated higher votes for
projects in line with a “parliamentary
tradition in practice over the years.”
Citing the instance of the 7th Assembly,
where he was the fourth highest-ranked
principal officer, Bawa disclosed that each
of the 10 principal officers received higher
project allocations according to their ranks.
He also confirmed that all the principal
officers had higher project votes than those
he called “floor members.”
Bawa added, “As a principal officer in the
7th Assembly, the funds allocated for my
projects were higher than that of Dogara,
who was a ‘floor member’ at the time.
“Dogara was a floor member. Even as the
Chairman, Committee on House Services,
the funds for his projects were nothing
compared to that of the least-ranked
principal officer.
“Principal officers got their allocations pro-
rata. They then identified the projects which
were domiciled in the relevant Ministries,
Departments and Agencies for execution.
“Every member knows that this has been
the practice and the 8th Assembly principal
officers have done nothing new.”
According to Bawa, the allocations of
Dogara and the other three principal officers
in the 2016 budget are not padding “so
long as they were contained in the budget
that was considered, passed by the
National Assembly and signed into the law
by Mr. President.”
Bawa, a lawyer, argued that the padding
allegations could “only be sustained if there
is proof that the money (N40bn) was added
to the budget after the National Assembly
passed it and on its way to the President’s
office.”
A former Chairman, Committee on
Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, had
alleged that the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu
Dogara, and three other principal officers
requested the inclusion of N40bn projects in
the 2016 budget, besides sundry projects in
sums ranging from N20bn to N30bn.
He claimed that his refusal to oblige the
four principal officers and his opposition to
several alleged financial infractions were
responsible for his sacking by Dogara on
July 20.
The leadership of the House denied the
alleged padding, saying all insertions into
the budget followed the “due process of
legislation and budgeting.”
However, it said Jibrin’s allegations would
be investigated internally by the Committee
on Ethics and Privileges after the House
would have reconvened on the initially fixed
September 13.
The police, the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission and the Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption are
already investigating the allegations.
Jibrin had petitioned the agencies and the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other
related offences Commission as well as the
Department of State Services.
Also on Sunday, Jibrin suggested how the
budgeting process and other finances of the
House could be reformed to plug alleged
loopholes for “fraud.”
Jibrin said he made the submissions to the
Presidential Advisory Committee Against
Corruption during his visit to the body in
Abuja on Wednesday last week.
He said he told the committee, which is
chaired by Prof. Itse Sagay, that the
legislature was abusing its power of
appropriation and should be stopped.
Jibrin suggested that copies of the budget
should always be circulated to all members
while the highlights and the details must be
considered together by lawmakers.
He added, “The most important reform here
is to ensure that budget estimates and
details are returned to the floor of the
House at the same time for passage.
“This will check the insertions by some
standing committee chairmen and principal
officers in the process of budget passage.
On the internal finances of the House, Jibrin
said such funds should be made public so
that Nigerians could follow the spending
pattern of lawmakers.