Twenty four hours after President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly withdrew the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 22, 2015 to amend some figures, some ranking Senators appear divided over the matter.
In separate remarks yesterday, some Senators told National Assembly correspondents that the president’s action was in order. Others sharply disagreed and maintained that the President had no right to withdraw a document that has already been submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Kabiru Gaya insisted Buhari’s action was in order. “I do not think it has been withdrawn but whatever the case is, the figure of the entire budget will not change. Mostly, there are adjustments of priority projects. So, if the figure under the subhead is not defined, then he has the right to readjust it and bring it back to us. The adjustment can also be done even while we are still discussing the budget.
“Once the main figure does not change, it is possible to make adjustments. If we are cutting 30 per cent from the National Assembly budget, then, it has to be done, pro rata. We must cut across 30 per cent across the agencies, the ministries, and all other government parastatals. There is duplication of figures like purchase of computers. When all the duplications are discovered, it is necessary to take them out,” Gaya said.
Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, in his remarks, vehemently maintained it was impossible for the president to withdraw the budget. “It is impossible to withdraw the budget. It is not a document that you can just write and say you are withdrawing it,” he argued.
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