Disturbed by growing criticisms from a cross section of Nigerians over the status and whereabouts of the 2016 budget, the Senate, yesterday, broke its silence. It admitted that the 2016 budget was not in its custody. It said a panel of inquiry set up by the Senate to ascertain the status and whereabouts of the budget was yet to submit its report.
The revelation was disclosed by the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. He was prompted to clear the air following a Point of Order raised by Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South).
Abaribe, who interjected Saraki while he was making a remark, urged the Senate leadership to tell Nigerians the true status of the budget. He said he had been inaduated with calls from his constituents who are worried about the whereabouts of the 2016 budget.
Abaribe further confirmed that the missing budget was part of the issues discussed during the Executive Session of the Senate on Tuesday. He added that it was no longer permissible to keep mum on the whereabouts of the budget, while Nigerians were being kept in the dark.
“The matter that I refer to is what is in every newspaper today and everywhere in all the talkshows in the radio of a missing budget. Therefore, Mr President, I want to bring to your attention… that yesterday in our closed session, this matter also came up.
“[We] have been inundated by messages from our constituents who are really worried about what their fate will be in 2016, and are asking us, ‘where is our budget’? That is why, Mr President, I think it is urgent that we look into this matter,” Abaribe remarked.
Pushed to the wall, the Senate President said the issue could not be discussed, as the panel set up to ascertain the whereabouts of the 2016 budget was yet to report back to the Senate.
He said: “Because of the importance of this, I will make an exception. You know we are all part of the decision at the close session yesterday and as part of that decision we are still waiting for those we have referred to carry out the assignment to come back to us.
“I think they will come back to us by tomorrow (today). I think they will come back to us by tomorrow and we will go into a closed session and finish up the report and we will be able to debate it properly.”
The Senate President went ahead and announced that the lawmakers of the Red Chamber would be given copies of the budget today, Thursday, 15th January, 2016.
The Daily Sun had revealed on Wednesday that details of the 2016 budget were missing from the official website of the Budget Office of the Federation. This is contrary to previous practices.
In the past, the federal government, through the Budget Office, posted details of the budget on its website as soon as it was presented before a joint session of the National Assembly.
(Fred Itua, SUN NEWS ONLINE)
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