BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION: Fresh law proposes president’s impeachment

A fresh law that will make provisions for hard penalties, including impeachment of the president for non implementation of national budgets, is underway in the National Assembly.

The proposed bill which is being given accelerated hearing by the National Assembly, also gives specific timelines for the preparation, consideration and enactment of national budgets.

The bill made it clear that the lack of sufficient and comprehensive regulatory framework for the budget process have become serious obstacles to the budget process in Nigeria.

However, the presidency in its reaction, described the planned imposition of penalties as unrealistic, noting that implementation of budget is based on availability of funds.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, while speaking at an interactive stakeholders’ meeting organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), said since the budget is a mere statement of expectation, it would be difficult to sanction anybody for not implementing it.

Section 33 of the proposed bill, states that anybody found to have breached any of the budget processes would be deemed to have committed an act of misconduct.

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Sanctions provided in section 35 of the bill against any public officer, legislator, or civil servants found to have committed such acts of misconduct include impeachment, suspension from office, written warning, removal of chairmanship of committee and termination of employment.

It lists such acts of misconduct which include failure to implement a budget project where appropriated funds are available to implement such project; failure to take reasonable care or necessary steps to ensure that there is compliance with this law by one’s institution, colleagues or subbordinates; non-compliance with the budget process calender; refusal to carry out official duty and as a incapacitated or prevent another official, public servantor civil servant from discharging his function under this Bill.

The new legislation made it clear that “a person who without lawful authority or approval given in accordance with this Bill alters or otherwise tempers with the report of a committee or subcommittee with intent to mislead or gain an advantage or benefit commits an offence.”

It also stated that “a person who unlawfully provides, offers, solicits or accepts anything of value for a direct or indirect benefit.

“A person, who takes any action, expresses or indicates illness to take an action for the purpose of intimidating or harming socially, financially or otherwise, any person wholly or partly for the purpose of influencing a decision on the budget process or the use or expenditure of any public money commits an offence,” the bill added.

The bill stated that the budget should be submitted to the National Assembly by the President not later than the first week of September while it should be passed into law not later than second week of December.

The president, according to the bill, should assent to the bill not later than 30th of December.

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