SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara
yesterday canvassed for the involvement of the National Assembly in the
appointment and removal of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, to
ensure operational independence and command integrity.
The Speaker also called for the decentralisation of the Police force for effective crime detection.Dogara-House
Dogara
who stated this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the National
Dialogue on economy, security and development facilitated by The
National Institute for Legislative Studies, further disclosed that the
House of Representatives was contemplating to amend Section 82 of the
Constitution from six months in which the President was allowed to spend
without appropriation to three months.
Recall that the Fiscal
Responsibility Act has recommended that the executive should forward to
the National Assembly the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, three
months before the end of the financial year, but President Muhammadu
Buhari was yet to forward the MTEF for the preparation of the 2016
Appropriation to the National Assembly.
But the Speaker in an
indirect reference to the delay by the executive to submit the MTEF to
the National Assembly, suggested a possible review of the Act, to
streamline budgetary processes to achieve strict adherence to timelines
for budget presentation and passage.
Expressing optimism that the
dialogue would address the burning questions of the day, and proffer
workable solutions to guide both the Executive and Legislative arms of
government, especially at this early period of President Buhari’s
administration, he said the House was committed to reviewing budgetary
process in the country.
According to him, “This Roundtable has
security as one of its main themes. That the security situation in
Nigeria is very bad is common knowledge and needs no repetition here. We
should be rather concerned with legislative solutions to the problem.
We need to think outside the box.
“It seems to me that the time
has come for us to reexamine the legal and constitutional framework for
policing in Nigeria. A decentralized police force may be more effective
as Nigerians in their communities are better placed to detect criminals
in their midst. We look forward for further guidance by experts in this
regard and for your recommendations.
“Furthermore, it has become
necessary, in my view, for the appointment and removal of the Inspector
General of Police to receive the blessing, of at least, the Senate of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This will also ensure some measure of
operational independence and command integrity.
“Policing
however, must exist side by side with economic empowerment of the people
for it is said that an idle mind is the devils workshop.”
Dogara
said the House was committed in its legislative agenda, in the review
of the national budgetary process and the revamping of the national
economy development in areas like “Legislative measures to tackle
non-remittance of internally generated revenue and leakages;
Infrastructure development; Legislative Initiative on New Cities and
Regional Hubs of Development and Legislative initiative on North-East
and Niger-Delta.”
Other areas include, “Legislative initiative on
Unemployment; Legislative Initiative on Housing, Urban Development,
Mortgages; Legislative initiative on Power; Legislative initiative on
Security; Legislative initiative on Economic Diversification.”
He
said the House had further committed itself in specific terms to a
review of the budgetary process with emphasis on the following the
promotion of an inclusive budgetary process that seeks the cooperation
of the executive in institutionalising pre-budget interface and
consultations and the adoption of an effective Medium-Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF)
“Strict compliance with the provisions of the
Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007. Insistence on prioritisation of
budget expenditure that reflects approved budget lines and zero
tolerance for non-implementation of capital projects as approved in
annual budgets.
“Effective monitoring and evaluation of
expenditure and of outcomes achieved – value for money and the
revisiting of the ‘Constitution Amendment passed by the 7thHouse
mandating the President to submit his Budget proposals at least 3 months
before the end of a fiscal year, instead of “at any time” before the
end of a fiscal year currently in the Constitution.”
He also said
that there were critical issues to be considered in passing annual
Appropriation Bill that include the possibility of conducting public
hearings on the budget before legislative approval, explaining that the
process exposed the national budget to increased citizen and stake
holder participation.
Besides, he said, “The House also committed
itself to ensuring ‘proper functioning and operation of the Fiscal
Responsibility Act, including a possible review of the Act, to
streamline budgetary processes and achieve strict adherence to timelines
for budget presentation and passage.
“The House committed itself
to a further review of the Finance (Control and Management) Act to
expunge all provisions that are inconsistent with the Constitution and
Presidential System of Government.
“The House shall also seek to
‘amend Section 82 of the Constitution to reduce the period of 6 months
that the President is allowed to spend without appropriation as this
provision severely distorts the Appropriation process.
“The 8th
House of Representatives will take legislative measures to ensure that
the Executive does not choose which aspects of the Appropriation Act it
implements. Indeed the House shall seek the cooperation of the Executive
to develop and enforce a Needs Based Budgeting System rather than an
‘envelop’ Based Budgeting System.
“The 8th House will also ensure
the coming into being of an independent effective, nonpartisan Budget
Office (NABRO) by law to aid in economic and budgetary information and
planning.
“The House shall enforce strict compliance with the
Reporting requirements by various officials and MDAs contained in the
annual Appropriation Acts which are currently observed more in breach by
the Executive without consequences.
“The House shall insist on
timely release of appropriated funds and general implementation of the
Budget as the ‘Nigerian people are entitled to feel the impact of
governance through the appropriation mechanism and process.”
Dogara
said improvement of national economy could not be meaningfully
discussed without discussing priority legislation in the field.
“Undoubtedly,
one of the most important pieces of legislation is the Petroleum
Industry Bill. This is necessary because Oil and Gas still accounts for
over 70% of our foreign exchange earnings in spite of the rapid fall in
oil prices.
“We therefore cannot afford not to organize the
sector in such a manner as to benefit the nation. In this regard, may I
call on the President as the Minister of Petroleum to as a matter of
urgency transmit a Bill to the National Assembly on how his
administration intends to reorganize the Petroleum Sector.
“The
PIB has had a checkered history. It was introduced late in the life of
the 6th Assembly and was not passed. In the 7th Assembly, a private
Members Bill was introduced in the first month of that Assembly, based
on the experience of the 6th Assembly.
“However, the last
administration informally indicated that it would prefer an Executive
Bill on the matter, which took over two years to materialize. It was
passed only by the House of Representatives very late in its tenure
without the Senate concurring.
“Investment decisions in this
field cannot continue to wait. Clarity on the legal framework for Oil
and Gas in Nigeria is crucial to our economy. Contrary to the assertion
that the size of the Bill is the problem, the fact is that an early
introduction will lead to an early passage,” he stated.
The
speaker said priority legislation that could help jumpstart the economy
included the Competition and Consumer Protection Laws and other laws
that touched on the economic wellbeing of Nigeria.”
On the
anti-corruption crusade, he said, “Anti -Corruption Legislation and
Over-sight would be the major contribution of parliament to the change
that has come to Nigeria.
“As I have said elsewhere, the National
Assembly remains the only arm of government specifically charged with
responsibility by the Constitution to ‘expose corruption, inefficiency
or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its
legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of
funds appropriated by it.
“The enduring fight against corruption
must be waged through the instrumentality of law and legislation. People
can only be accountable when the law is clear and when it is enforced
fairly and firmly.
“While we await the decision of Mr. President
on whether to merge EFCC and ICPC, the urgent legislative undertaking
now, is to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the Heads of
these agencies by requiring the consent of the Senate to their
appointment and removal from office.
“This will ensure that they are not whimsically removed when they disagree with a sitting President.”
He said issues of development and economy would not be discussed without discussing the budget process in Nigeria.
Dogara
said, “Mr. President should follow up the implementation of the TSA
with another bold and courageous move to capture all expenditure by all
the MDAs in one single National budget.
“No longer should the
income and expenditure of some revenue earning agencies be an
‘Attachment’ to the National Budget but should be an integral part of
it. It should be part of the aggregate figures that make up the Budget.
Such agencies should include the NNPC, NPA, NIMASA, Customs and Excise,
NCC, etc.
“This Roundtable should also consider whether it is
appropriate to continue to maintain January to December as the Financial
year. In the alternative, the National Assembly may prescribe the
financial year to be 12months from the date of the signing of the
Appropriation Bill.
“This is because the only way a Budget would
have any realistic chance of full implementation is if it is operated
for 12 calendar months as the spirit of Section 318 of the Constitution
seems to suggest.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/dogara-canvasses-for-senate-approval-before-removal-of-igp/
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