Posted by From AMOS DUNIA, Abuja on
The Senate on Tuesday witnessed a rowdy session over the passage of the appropriation bill for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following attempts by the Senate President, David Mark, to summarise the decision of the upper chamber.
The Senate on Tuesday witnessed a rowdy session over the passage of the appropriation bill for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following attempts by the Senate President, David Mark, to summarise the decision of the upper chamber.
The president of the Senate ran into troubled waters over the FCT budget when he attempted to summarize the resolution taken by senators on the matter.
He had said the appropriation committee had been asked to re-submit details of the budget as it affects capital expenditure of the FCT, just as he said the re-current expenditure had been concluded.
The Senate president's announcement led to a shouting bout, as senators insisted that the Appropriation Committee should be made to provide details on all aspects of the budget bill before passage.
Efforts by Senator Iyiola Omisore to defend the report of his committee met with serious resistance as senators shouted him down.
Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, later told journalists, at a press briefing, that the development was a clear indication that the Senate would no longer be business as usual in the conduct of government activities, particularly with regards to Appropriation Bills.
Senator Eze said the Senate action in rejecting the report of the committee on appropriation meant that the business of government must be taken more seriously. He said that was what guided the Senate to throw away the report of the Senator Omisore-led committee for its inability to submit a detailed report on the FCT 2008 budget.
Trouble had started at the Senate following the discovery of N400 million earmarked for capital expenditure, which was listed under administration. Some senators saw this as abnormal and totally unreasonable.
First to declare the verbal war on the Senate Committee on Appropriation report was Senator Lee Maeba (PDP Rivers), who, citing order 1 (b) of the Senate Standing Rule, noted that the report lacked details and should be recommitted to the committee for a more comprehensive work.
'We are just coming out of a mess that arose from our passing the 2008 Appropriation Bill without the required details. I suggest that we avoid all that by asking this committee to provide details of this FCT Budget Bill," Senator Maeba said.
Also contributing to the debate, senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw (PDP Cross Rivers), citing Order 86 of the Senate Standing Rules, urged the Senate to stand down the report and slate it for discussion on another legislative day after the details must have been attached.
Senator Ewa-Henshaw noted that Senator Omisore's committee had misled the Senate into passing Appropriation Bills in the past without details as required by the rules, stressing that details of a budget were expected to be passed together with the Bill.
'It is a fundamental error that we have been passing budgets without details," Ewa-Henshaw said.
However, the Senate president, succeeded in appealing to senators to allow the Committee on Appropriation to provide details on the capital expenditure of the FCT budget.