More troubles for Enang, Buhari’s Senate aide

He said all the crises involving the Senate and the executive have to do with the appointees of the President and not the president as a person

functionaries towards invitation on 2018 budget.

Spokesperson of the Senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger) told newsmen on Wednesday that the Senate was disturbed by a new trend where heads or chief executives of critical institutions who should play a critical role in the budget process choose to ignore the invitation by the Senate to appear before it for deliberation

“Specifically yesterday (Tuesday) when we had a deliberation, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning was around. But based on the discussion we were supposed to have; to look at the revenue projections which are the basis for the MTEF, I want to report here that the GMD of NNPC refused to show up. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria refused to show up. The Comptroller General of Customs refused to show up. The Director General of the National Bureau of Statistics refused to show up. And the Director of DPR refused to show up,” he said.

A source at the National Assembly said though Enang has witnessed many crises under his watch he has maneuvered well except for the missing budget issue.

“He has done creditably well when compared to his immediate predecessors, Ajadi and Emodi in terms of crisis management. Look at the way he survived the missing budget scandal. We all know he received the heat on behalf of his boss, that is very good of him,” the source said.

But another source said predecessors of Enang resisted sectionalism, ethnicity, sycophancy, mediocrity and mischief, lamenting that the reverse is now the case.

Accordingly, the source said the attitudes of Enang were among the factors responsible for the suspicion and bad blood between the Senate and executive. The source alleged that Enang had on many occasions misguided appointees during investigative hearings, thus setting both arms against each other.

“What do you make of a situation where an aide to the President displays I know it all mentality. This happened during the appearance of the IGP before the Senate over Misau’s allegations against him. Rather than calming nerves, he said they would use multi door options to settle the matter. What does he mean?

“A similar lack of respect for the institution was displayed on November 7 when the president presented the budget to the joint session of the National Assembly. The two aides of the president abused protocol and tradition by hijacking the responsibility of the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA). Protocol wise, it is the responsibility of the CNA to assist the president in laying the budget document, but the aides took this over. What an eye service! “the source said.

The source called on the president to call Enang and his House of Representatives counterpart, Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, to order to restore respect, order and responsibility, adding “after all it is the CNA that signs and transmits not just the budget but all bills to the president for assent.”

In an interview, Enang said the case of missing budget and Magu’s controversy were his biggest challenges.

He said all the crises involving the Senate and the executive have to do with the appointees of the President and not the president as a person.

“I’m sure you can notice that whichever hard word that comes from the senators on the floor, is either against a minister, a Director General or an officer of government and not Mr. President as a person. This has been noticed by all Nigerians and me. It shows that very rarely does the Senate have very serious issue against Mr. President personally,” he said.

The presidential aide said he has maintained the principle that he brought into the system, which is dialogue, lobby and show of understanding with the Senate, without confrontation.

“The greatest of my challenge was the question of the missing budget, the Magu question, then the question relating to confirmation of appointments because the legislature has placed embargo on it. In all these, I thank God because we adopted extreme diplomacy when knowledge failed, we resorted to AK-47, by asking God to intervene,” he said.