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ELECTION BUDGET: National Assembly committee adjourns indefinitely

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ELECTION BUDGET: National Assembly committee adjourns indefinitely

The joint committee of the National Assembly on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday announced an indefinite suspension of meetings on the N189 billion budget for the 2019 elections.

Mr Suleiman Nazif, who is the Senate chairman of the joint committee made the announcement after INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and the Minister of Budget and Planning, Udo Udoma, appeared before the lawmakers in Abuja to clarify supposed discrepancies in the budget.

“‘Honourable minister, honourable chairman (INEC) and presidential liaison, I want to thank you very much for your time. We have the prerogative as a committee to look into all the details having got all the clarifications we require. We will now sit as a committee at the end of the day on which one to use. We are not playing politics here.

‘‘This is not where we play politics. On this note, this meeting is adjourned sine die (indefinitely),” Nazif said.

The committee which had earlier met with INEC chairman on the issue of N189 billion which President Muhammadu Buhari had sought the approval of the National Assembly for to conduct of 2019 elections, had to re-summon Yakubu following perceived discrepancies in the budget.

While in his letter to the lawmakers President Buhari had requested for a virement of N143 billion for the election from 2018 budget and another N45 billion which would be included in the 2019 Budget, the INEC chairman, had demanded that the money which sums up to N189 billion be given to the commission at once from the 2018 budget.

The concern of the committee therefore was why INEC would be requesting the appropriation of the total amount of N189 billion, when President Buhari only requested for virement of N143 billion from the 2018 budget and balance of N45 billion from the 2019 Budget.

“We made consultations and it was based on that that we invited the Minister of Budget and National Planning to make comment on the issue in contention.

“The issue in contention is that we have a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari of a Supplementary Budget of N143 billion.

“Though, there is another N45 billion which he said will be included in the 2019 Budget. When you put that together, you will get N189 billion, which is what INEC also presented.

“So, there is no confusion in it. INEC did the right thing. INEC sent exactly the same thing. However, it is the source of funding that is the problem and that is why we invited you.

“The president said the balance of N45 billion will be serviced from the 2019 budget and our concern is that election would have been over by then.

READ ALSO : Group says INEC’s 2019 election budget criminally-minded, wants it rejection

“We have gotten the message from the minister of planning. It is our duty to decide on what to do. We have the prerogative as a committee and we will decide if we will go with N143 billion or 189 billion.

“We are talking about national interest and we should be united to move the nation forward,” Nazif had said during the meeting.

Responding, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udo Udoma thanked the lawmakers for cutting short their recess to attend to the budget.

He then explained, “The amount INEC asked for is N189 billion but when Mr President considered the funding constraint, the budget office looked through the budget.

“We realised that there are aspects of this budget that will not be spent in 2018 but in 2019 and those elements were pushed to 2019 budget.

“I heard that one of your concerns is that the 2019 budget may not be passed in time to accommodate the N45 billion.

“What I will like to say is that we will have no objection to your appropriating the full amount of N189 billion, so that you do not have to reconsider for the 2019 budget.

“That will mean that we will not include the N45 billion in the 2019 budget because the President has approved 189 billion, should you wish to appropriate for the full amount now, the president will not have objection.

“However, the president came in the form of virement because of funding constraint so as not to increase the overall size of the 2018 budget.”

According to him, the demand by the president that the election budget be funded from N578 billion inserted in the 2018 Budget by the National Assembly was to maintain the budget size.

He meanwhile pointed out that the N578 billion was not inclusive of N100 billion appropriated for constituency projects.

“We prepared a schedule which was attached to the letter sent to the national assembly and the schedule has projects worth N578 billion.

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“Provided the amount is taken from this by way of Virement, it will be consistent with the president’s request. This list of projects does not include the N100billion provided for constituency projects,” he said.

Speaking, Yakubu said that the budget INEC submitted to the committee was in tandem with what the president presented but that the issue was about how much of it is coming out of Supplementary Appropriation of 2018 and how much of it is going to be taken in 2019.

“How the money is sourced is not a matter for INEC, it is a matter between the Executive and the National Assembly,” he said.

 

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