Budget law needed - Don
The debate on whether or not the National Assembly has power to increase the budget presented by the president has been a recurring one since 1999, a professor of law,Yemi AkinseyeGeorge (SAN), has said.
This comes at the heels of reports quoting the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, to have said the National Assembly has no right to introduce new projects or modify those contained in an appropriation bill.
Reacting to this, the National Assembly said its constitutional powers are unambiguous with regards to appropriation and warned the executive that it would not be a rubber stamp for it.
Speaking on this unending debate, Akinseye-George in an interview with Daily Trust said the constitution offers no clear answer to the question.
Section 81(1) of the constitution simply provides that, “The president shall cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of revenues and expenditure of the federation for the next following financial year,” he said.
He said the use of the word estimates connotes that the figures submitted by the executive are neither sacrosanct nor conclusive.
“At best they are mere proposals,” he said of the budget.
“There is no special definition of estimates by the constitution. Therefore the word must be given its ordinary grammatical meaning of “an idea or approximation rather than conclusive figures. The constitution also uses the word proposals with respect to the revenue allocation formula submitted to the National Assembly by the president under Section 162 (2).”
He said it is until the budget estimates is submitted to the National Assembly that it becomes a bill or legislative proposal.
“In my humble opinion, the National Assembly cannot be a mere rubber stamp. It has the power to scrutinise the estimates contained in the bill and demand explanations from the executive or anyone who may be of assistance to it in deciding what to approve. The estimates are mere guides,” he said.
The law professor said it is prudent but not mandatory for the legislature to consult the executive before altering the budget estimates one way or the other. He said this is because the power of managing the economy is that of the executive and it is expected that the executive has a broader perspective than the National Assembly in managing the economy, adding that, “This of course is not always the case.”
He said no arm of government can claim monopoly of authority with respect to the national budget.
“Even the judiciary could intervene in an appropriate case to ensure full compliance with the constitution. The case of AG Bendel v. AG Federation is relevant here. The Supreme Court nullified the Appropriation Act which was not passed in conformity with the constitution.
“Therefore rather than bickering over whether the National Assembly has power to alter the budget estimates or not, the legislative and the executive arms should work