Politics
Unease As N’Assembly Rubber Stamps Budget
. . . Enveloping system of budgeting is a cesspool of corruption – Senator Moro
There are clear signals that the National Assembly would be underlining the widely held perception that it is an appendage of the executive by rubberstamping the 2024 Appropriating Bill before embarking on end-of-year break.
This is despite heavy apprehension from informed sources and concerns being voiced even in the National Assembly.
Recall that popular economist, Bismarck Rewane had cried that the masses were more interested in cost of living indices, instead of high-sounding rhetoric.
Emerging facts show that the legislators are aware that they by passing the budget, they are taking a plunge into the dark, yet, they cannot help themselves, as they must endorse it before going on break.
According to The PUNCH, indications emerged on Friday that the National Assembly would pass the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N27.5tn on Tuesday, December 19.
The Senate and the House of Representatives had earlier on Friday passed the ‘Renewed Hope’ budget for second reading.
The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, hinted during the plenary that the budget might be passed by the lawmakers on December 19 before embarking on their Christmas and New Year break.
During deliberations on Friday, senators applauded President Bola Tinubu for his good intentions for the country, but some lamented the failure of the executive to provide the details of the budget.
The budget was passed for second reading and referred to the Committee on Appropriations after being put to a voice vote by Barau, who presided over the session.
“The budget is hereby referred to the Committee on Appropriations and the committee is mandated to submit the report to this chamber on December 19,” Barau stated.
The President had on Wednesday presented to a joint session of the National Assembly the budget, which he named, ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’.
Tinubu pegged the budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year at N9.18tn.
He said the deficit would represent 3.88 percent of the country’s total Gross Domestic Product.
Tinubu stated, “The N9.18tn deficit is lower than the N13.78tn deficit recorded in 2023, which represented 6.11 percent of the GDP.
“The deficit will be financed by new borrowings totalling N7.83tn; N298.49bn from privatisation proceeds and N1.05tn drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.”
He added that his administration would limit the inflation rate to 21.4 percent in 2024, adding that tax and fiscal policies were currently being reviewed.
“Our target is to increase the ratio of revenue to GDP from less than 10 percent currently to 18 percent within the term of this administration,” the President added.
To fund the budget, he stated that fresh loans would be collected, while the government would also explore public-private partnership arrangements to finance critical infrastructure.
Commenting on the budget, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said it would be financed with less deficit than the situation in the past.
He said, “So, there will definitely be fresh loans, and if those loans are maturing, they will be financed.
“And as always, you’re not going to be financing all the loans from the revenue; so, they will be fresh loans.
“There will be continuous reliance on loans, but less so. The important thing is that the size of the budget that is being relied on from borrowing is downsized.”
Contributing to the debate on Friday, Senator Babangida Hussaini (All Progressives Congress, Jigawa North West), raised the issue of insecurity in the country, tracing it back to a lack of unemployment for citizens.
According to him, it is a necessity to work on the skills of unemployed youths and create jobs for them.
“Unemployment is a common problem in this country; we must find jobs for these youths. Sometimes there are jobs but no skills, so we should step up to look into the skills of these youths. We must also step up our legislative functions of oversight,” Hussaini stated.
Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) said, “There is a saying that an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. There is a need for us to create and generate employment, which will ease the issues of insecurity in the country.”
Senator Sadiq Umar (APC, Kwara North) expressed worry over the continuous rise in debt servicing, which he noted had been a trend since 2015.
“The debt servicing (figure) is worrisome but we will look forward to how this will be managed. The recurring expenditure is very high as well and the capital expenditure is an increase over that of last year, and there has been a gradual increase since 2015”
In his contributions, Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), responded to the issue of borrowing, stating that it would be worthwhile when Nigerians began to see the developments the loans were being used for.
Ndume said, “The capital expenditure has now gone up, which is the first in the country. The deficit is also commendable.
“Once Nigerians see the reason why we are borrowing; it will be worthwhile. What we need to do is allow the President to give us a renewed hope.”
Senator Aliyu Kabiru said the basis of the 2024 budget was rational.
“The oil price benchmark is rational; the exchange rate is also rational. However, I think we are beginning to see fiscal discipline in our budget framework. Projection around the revenue is also achievable and it is important to have a realistic bill and that will benefit the common man,” he submitted.
Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (All Progressives Grand Alliance, Abia South), complained that the budget did not capture the state of the power sector despite being an important element driving the economy.
Abaribe said, “How do we create jobs if the issue of power failure in Nigeria is not addressed? Aside from the government, all the self-employed people from manufacturing industries to business centre owners, need electricity to power their enterprises and remain in business.
“At the committee level, we need to look around the projections and proposals made in the budget for required organisations, for what Nigeria and Nigerians need, or else if we leave it as it is, it is garbage in, garbage out.”
Senator Abba Moro in his contribution said the seven percent of the budget proposal earmarked for the education sector was too small and a far cry from the 26 percent recommended by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
He added that the enveloping system of budgeting would not make the yearly budget impactful in terms of implementation.
“The Enveloping system of budgeting is a cesspool of corruption. We need to seek alternatives because we cannot continue doing things the same way all the time and expect different results,” Moro added.
Senator Francis Fadahunsi (PDP, Osun), expressed the hope that funds moved by President Tinubu from votes for infrastructure in the 2023 budget to the recently passed N2.17tn supplementary budget for palliatives would be reflected in the 2024 budget.
He specifically mentioned the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesha-Akure road as part of the projects that suffered from such budgetary votes’ removal.
Others who made contributions were senators Benson Kombowei (PDP, Bayelsa Central), Ede Dafinone (APC, Delta Central), Jide Ipinsagba (APC, Ondo North), Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), and Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central).
During the debate on the budget on Thursday, lawmakers raised concerns over the lack of details for deliberations.
Some of the senators lamented that they were working based on assumptions and projections made on revenues and expenditures in the proposals by Tinubu.
The first to object was Senator Kawu Sumaila (New Nigerian People’s Party, Kano South), who stated that it was an aberration for lawmakers to debate the budget without seeing the details of what they were to consider.
Sumaila said, “We cannot be considering a budget whose details we have not seen. We don’t have the sectoral breakdown; how do we know if we are doing the right thing? I don’t think we should be debating the budget now.
“How are we sure that the interests of our constituents were captured in the budget?”
Kawu was, however, countered by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North), who said that the bill was passed for second reading based on the merits and demerits of the principles.
“The merits and demerits of the appropriation bill have been stated by the President and the same has been repeated by the Senate Leader in his presentation of which copies have also been released to all lawmakers present,” he said.
This was followed by Senator Mohammed Onawo (PDP, Nasarawa South), who said he did not have the details of the budget, but based on a presentation made by the President, the projections and assumptions were realistic.
Senator Garba Medoki (Kebbi South) said, “We can’t thoroughly debate this budget without the details. And I am speaking from the point of view that the past administration was not fair to us in Kebbi State.
“I need to see the details to be sure that this administration will be fair to my people.
“I am speaking on good authority that we the people of Kebbi don’t want the palliative that the President is giving; we want it converted to capital roads and used to fix our roads so that our people can earn a living.”
Senator Eta Williams (Cross River Central), said the budget was a paradigm shift from the previous ones.
He said, “I saw a diversion in the 2024 budgetary proposal presented by President Tinubu from what we used to have in the past.
“The projections and proposals made are realistic and realisable, and in fact, clearly show that the mantra of renewed hope is for real.”
Senator Olalere Oyewumi (PDP Osun West), said the budgetary proposals as presented by the President indicated a paradigm shift from previous ones.
According to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP Kogi Central), the country is on the path of economic growth as shown by the assumptions and projections made in the N27.5tn budget.
However, in his contribution, Senator Binos Dauda Yaroe (PDP Adamawa South) accused President Tinubu of boxing the National Assembly into a tight corner regarding the passage of the 2024 budget.
“The budget proposals were supposed to have been presented in September or early last month for thorough and diligent consideration,” the senator stated.
The Senate thereafter adopted the votes and proceedings of the presentation and adjourned the plenary till December 23.
The various committees within that window will meet with various Ministries, Departments and Agencies for their budget defence.
The Senate will reconvene on December 12 and consider and pass the budget on December 19.
House Considers Proposals
The House of Representatives on Friday passed for second reading the N27.5tn budget for next year.
Continuing the debate on the general principles of the budget on Friday, the member representing the Kosofe Federal Constituency of Lagos State, Kafilat Ogbara, described the 2024 Appropriation Bill as a people-centric budget aimed at bettering the lives of Nigerians.
However, members took turns to ask for an upward review of the allocations to education and health, among others.
A member of the Labour Party representing the Isiala Ngwa North/ South Federal Constituency, Abia State, Obinna Ginger, said, “From what was presented by Mr President, the education sector is not fully represented. Let us look at upgrading the allocation to education because we still have less than 26 per cent of the UNESCO benchmark.”
Ginger, while calling for a holistic implementation of the budget, lamented what he called the continuous marginalisation of the South-East geo-political zone in the national scheme of things.
“The 1999 Constitution as amended provides for the federal character principle, but I must say here that the South-East cannot continue to shout marginalisation and nobody is listening. There are no motorable federal roads in the South-East. Let us allocate more resources to the South-East so that our people can have a sense of belonging,” he pleaded.
The debate offered opposition lawmakers an opportunity to call the attention of the All Progressives Congress-led government to the realities in their communities and the need to intervene through adequate budgetary allocations to alleviate their constituents’ plight.
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Bayelsa State, Frederick Agbedi, lamented the plight of residents of rural areas, noting that they had been suffering untold hardship since the removal of subsidy on petrol.
“Since the removal of fuel subsidy, life has become extremely difficult for our people. No effort is being made to address the effect of subsidy removal on our people, who are expending much to convey their goods and services. We would like to appeal that in considering this bill, effort is made to address this so that the riverside areas can be part of this budget,” he said.
Applauding the allocation to security, a Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker from Kaduna State, Bashir Yusuf, drew the attention of the Federal Government to the imperative of private sector involvement in the implementation of the budget. He however warned that only a safe environment would attract needed private sector investment.
“Private sector involvement in the economy of any nation is only possible in a secure environment. As we look at diversifying our economy, the solid minerals sector needs to be given top priority. This is one way we can grow our non-oil revenue,” he said.
Although he commended the focus on agriculture in the proposed budget, Yusuf noted that the allocation to the sector still fell short of the Maputo Declaration.
“We are still short of the Maputo Declaration, which requires 10 per cent of the national budget to be spent on agriculture. To actualise this, we need the input of development partners,” he added.
In his contribution, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance representing the Aguata Federal Constituency, Anambra State, Ifeanyi Okafor, called on lawmakers to double their oversight function, particularly as it concerned defence and security.
“It is not enough to allocate huge resources to security agencies and there is nothing to show for it. Some of the people who are into kidnapping do so because of unemployment,” Okafor stated.
For Cyril Godwin, (PDP, Rivers State), 45 per cent of the revenue projection is expected to come from the oil sector, noting however that despite this reality, there had been no investment in the sector in the past 10 years.
“In the past 10 years, the multi-national oil companies refused to carry out any critical investment in oil production. We need oil revenue to diversify the economy into other sectors. We need safer schools, particularly in the North,” he said.
Also speaking, the lawmaker representing the Nkwerre/Isu/ Nwangele/Njaba of Imo State, Ugbonna Ozurigbo, said while effort was being made to pass the budget in record time, the Federal Government should increase revenue allocation to the Presidential Amnesty Programme given its role in ensuring peace and security around oil installations and facilities.
Meanwhile, a mild drama played out on the floor of the House when in his contribution, Mr Sani Madaki, a political ally of a former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, faulted the ‘Renewed Hope’ title of the 2024 budget even as he slammed the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“There is hunger and insecurity everywhere. So, what are you renewing? It should have been a budget of hope not renewed because in the past eight years, there was nothing to be hopeful about,” he stated.
His contribution elicited prolonged laughter among lawmakers even as Alhassan Doguwa, a member of the APC, made futile attempts to stop him through a point of order.
Joining the debate, the member representing the Ebonyi/Ohaukwu Federal Constituency, Ebonyi State, Nwachukwu Eze (APC), urged his colleagues to improve their oversight of the budget for public primary schools.
“You don’t find children in our public primary schools anymore. There is no oversight in our constituencies because the public schools there are not over-sighted,” Eze added.
‘We’re taking budget defence seriously’
Meanwhile, the Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Oluwole Oke, has said the 10th House will not engage in business as usual with heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the defence of the 2024 budget.
Following the passage of the N27.5tn Appropriation Bill, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, adjourned the plenary to December 12, 2023.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2024 Ondo State governorship election, Agboola Ajayi, has filed an appeal against the December 2 ruling of the Federal High Court in Akure.
The court had dismissed his lawsuit challenging the eligibility of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, and his running mate, Olayide Owolabi Adelami.
Ajayi, in his notice of appeal dated December 7, 2024, alleged that Justice T.B. Adegoke erred in dismissing his case, which was marked FHC/AK/CS/99/2024.
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The PDP candidate’s initial lawsuit raised concerns over discrepancies in the certificates submitted by Aiyedatiwa to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Ajayi argued that these discrepancies violated electoral laws and called into question Aiyedatiwa’s qualifications to run for office.
Key Allegations in Appeal
Ajayi presented multiple grounds for his appeal, accusing the Federal High Court of failing to properly evaluate the evidence before it.
He claimed that: “Unexplained Certificate Discrepancies: Ajayi stated that the trial court failed to address “unexplained and irreconcilable differences” in the names on Aiyedatiwa’s certificates.
According to him, “The 1st Respondent submitted different certificates with different names that were not the same. Throughout the dispute before the trial court, the 1st Respondent never presented a Deed Poll to explain the irreconcilable differences.”
Failure to Grant Reliefs: He criticized the court for dismissing his reliefs despite what he described as compelling evidence.
Ajayi argued, “The lower court failed to properly evaluate the evidence presented before it, which was essentially documentary. The refusal to grant the reliefs in the face of credible evidence on record occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice.”
Neglect of Documentary Evidence: Ajayi contended that the court neglected its duty to evaluate critical statutory documents, which he said were central to proving his case.
He added, “The court was called upon to examine and evaluate the documentary evidence but failed to do so, instead relying on extraneous matters without giving appropriate consideration to whether those assertions were correct.”
Standing to Sue: The PDP candidate argued that the trial court erred by dismissing his legal standing to challenge Aiyedatiwa’s nomination. He noted, “The issue of nomination and sponsorship of a candidate is both intra- and inter-party affairs of an interested party in an election, as in this instant case.”
Ajayi is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court’s judgment and grant the reliefs he sought at the trial court.
These include an order invalidating Aiyedatiwa’s candidacy due to the certificate discrepancies and setting aside the December 2 ruling.
Specifically, he requested, “An order allowing the appeal and setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, delivered on the 2nd of December, 2024, by Hon. Justice T.B. Adegoke.”
“An order granting the reliefs sought by the appellants as plaintiffs before the trial court.”
Ajayi also faulted the court’s interpretation of Section 29(1)-(5) of the Electoral Act, 2022. He argued that the provisions were given a “narrow and restrictive” reading, which ignored the broader intent of the law.
The appeal is the latest development in the heated political contest between the PDP and APC in Ondo State.
Legal experts believe the outcome of the case could significantly impact the governorship race.
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has congratulated the newly elected president of Ghana, John Mahama.
This was gleaned in a government house statement in Osogbo on Monday in which Gov Adeleke described President Mahama as “a true democrat and a genuine friend of Nigeria”
Gov Adeleke stated, “we have been sharing deep thoughts about the true essence of democracy and the imperative of respect for people’s will as the bedrock of virile democratic state.
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“All through his days in the opposition, he adopted the best of democratic model with unbending faith in the capacity of voters to decide and the necessity of the system to accept the voters’ will as expressed without any equivocation. His faith in the electorate amidst hard work of electioneering campaigns paid off with a resounding victory at the polls.
“I further commend the ruling party for conceding defeat without attempting any electoral hijack. This was a demonstration of electoral maturity worthy of emulation by actors within the Nigerian space.
“I rejoice with my dear brother as our dreams come true by the grace of God and the people. As he prepares to return to the State House, I have no doubt that he will take Ghana to greater heights.
“I call for a closer, more robust relationship between Nigeria and Ghana. Both countries must deepen cooperation under mutual respect and opportunities. Our brotherly relationship should extend to the sub-national level for the benefits of citizens and residents of our dear nations.”
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas “to urgently assess the human rights impacts of Nigeria’s reform bills currently being discussed by the National Assembly including on Nigerians living in poverty.”
According to the SERAP said, “any discussion and consideration of the tax reform bills must ensure full compliance with provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations and commitments.”
The call was contained in a letter dated December 7, 2024, under the signature of its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, in which the SERAP stated, inter alia, “The assessments should be transparent, include public participation, and shape the provisions and measures that are ultimately passed. The outcome of any such assessments should be widely published.”
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The SERAP urged Akpabio, and Abbas “to pass a resolution directing Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to hold Nigeria’s state governors to account on their spending of trillions of naira of revenue derived from taxes including VATs collected by their states since 2015 and to ensure the recovery of any proceeds of corruption.”
The letter, read in part: “SERAP urges you to ensure the inclusion in the tax reform bills of transparency and accountability mechanisms to ensure that any revenue derived from taxes covered under the bills are not mismanaged, diverted or pocketed by politicians, their family members and close associates.
“SERAP notes that Nigerian authorities have the discretion to develop laws on taxation most appropriate to their circumstances.
“However, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and human rights and anticorruption treaties to which the country is a state party impose limits on the discretion of the authorities in the development of any such laws.
“Our preliminary review of the provisions of the tax reform bills shows that the bills contain some provisions that are antithetical to human rights and the rule of law.
“For example, section 28(2)(c) of the Tax Administration bill among others, requires financial institutions including banks to provide to tax authorities ‘the names, addresses, or any other information of new or existing customers.’
“Under section 28(4), financial institutions must make ‘additional disclosure” about their customers ‘if it is required by a notice signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the relevant tax authority.’
“These provisions, especially the phrases ‘any other information’ and ‘additional disclosure’, if implemented, could be used unjustifiably or arbitrarily to restrict the right to privacy of customers.
“The risks of violations of human rights are illustrated by the absence in the bills of sufficient safeguards against abuse of access to personal data of customers.
“The provisions also give little or no consideration to data protection, thereby increasing the risks of misuse by public authorities of a customer’s personal details including their home address.
“Another troubling provision of the tax reform bills is section 57 of the Tax Administration bill which grants broad, extensive and intrusive powers to tax authorities which may be misused to undermine Nigerians’ human rights.
“In particular, section 57(1) provides that ‘an authorised officer of the relevant tax authority shall have free access to all land, buildings, places, books and documents, in the custody or under the control of a person, public officer, or institution, for the purpose of inspecting the books or documents.’
“Such official will also have free access to ‘any property, process or matter which the officer considers necessary or relevant for the purpose of collecting any tax.’
“Under subsection 2, ‘the relevant tax authority shall take immediate possession of [any] removable media and the related removable equipment or computer used to access the stored documents on the media in order to prevent the accidental or intentional destruction, removal or alteration of records and documents.’
“Section 57(5) seems to pre-empt the nature of any judicial authorisation required for tax official ‘enter any private dwelling’ by prescribing that such authorisation will ‘be valid for a period of three months from the date of its issue or such lesser period as the judicial officer considers appropriate.’
“Under subsection 6, the tax official is required to ‘produce the written authorisation and evidence of identity “on first entering the private dwelling’. The official will only produce such evidence subsequently if they consider it reasonable to do so.
“These provisions are broadly worded and could be misused to violate Nigerians’ human rights.
“The provisions also do not contain any special safeguards which means that the broad, extensive and intrusive powers granted to tax authorities could be arbitrarily exercised without any accountability.
“Section 57 also does not contain any explicit provisions that would allow the court to examine the lawfulness or necessity of any authorisation before or after any entering.
“The provisions of section 81 of the Tax Administration bill essentially oust the jurisdiction of the court in pending tax matters by stating that ‘the pendency of a legal proceeding shall not affect the performance of the duties or obligations of any taxable person under this Act or any other tax law.’
“The provisions could be misused to infringe the rights to equality and the right of access to courts, denying the right of an effective remedy to any aggrieved party.
“Several other provisions of the tax bills lack mechanisms for effective oversight and accountability, as required by the rule of law in a democratic society, thereby increasing the risks of abuse of power or arbitrariness. The provisions could be misused to violate Nigerians’ right to property and fair hearing.
“The tax bills also do not seem to contain provisions for a fair balance between the authorities’ powers to collect taxes and the requirements of the protection of the individual’s fundamental rights.
“The absence of provisions in the tax bills on meaningful judicial oversight and review and accountability procedures would also undermine the rights of Nigerians including to privacy and disproportionately affect disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups.
“Under human rights law, states including Nigeria are required to make the promotion and protection of human rights central to their tax systems. Nigeria needs a rights-based tax system that works for the people and not the politicians, their family members and close associates.
“The country also needs transparent, democratic and rights-aligned tax reforms to unlock the maximum available resources for the full realisation of human rights.
“Furthermore, there are credible reports that several state governors continue to divert or mismanage the revenue derived from taxes, impeding the funding of public goods and services that are crucial for the progressive realisation of human rights.
“In many states, millions of Nigerians continue to be denied access to essential public services such as water and basic sanitation while millions of children of school age roam the streets.
“SERAP is concerned that growing reports of corruption in the use of tax revenue and other public resources continue to disproportionately affect poor Nigerians and other most vulnerable segments of the population.
“SERAP is concerned that the opposition by some state governors against the tax reform bills may be politically motivated and reduce the tax payable to the national treasury. State governors should constructively engage in good faith in the processes to adopt a national tax system for the country.
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken in the consideration of the tax reform bills.
“If the offending provisions of the tax reform bills including those outlined above are not addressed and brought in conformity with human rights standards and safeguards, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and other members of the National Assembly to comply with our request in the public interest.
“SERAP notes that the tax reform bills, if properly aligned with human rights standards, would enhance the ability of the Federal Government, states and local governments to fulfil their human rights obligations and adequately fund public services essential for human rights.
“However, without transparency and accountability, revenue derived from taxes may not be spent to combat poverty and fund development as well as provide essential public goods and services for Nigerians.
“The National Assembly has the constitutional responsibility to conduct and publish human rights impact assessments of the tax reform bills to ensure that proposed reforms best protect, advance and fulfill people’s human rights.
“SERAP also urges you to revise and repeal several of the provisions of the bills, particularly the Tax Administration bill.
“SERAP urges you to include provisions in the tax reform bills that will ensure that Nigerians have access to all relevant data and information on fiscal policy and government revenues, including from the corporate sector.
“According to our information, members of the National Assembly are currently discussing Nigeria’s tax bills which primarily aim to ‘provide uniform procedures for a consistent and efficient administration of tax laws in order to- (a) facilitate tax compliance by taxpayers; and (b) optimise tax revenue.’
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