Senate to Meet Buhari Over 2016 Budget

Yesterday, Members of the Senate at a closed-door meeting resolved to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari next week to pursue an amicable settlement of the prolonged row between the executive and legislative arms of government over the 2016 national budget.

According to the Nation, the meeting is scheduled to hold either on Monday or Tuesday, subject to President Buhari’s convenience.

The senate is said to have raised a committee to review the disputed items in the budget and harmonise them in line with what was presented to the national assembly by the president.

The alleged removal of some projects such as the Calabar-Lagos railway from the budget estimates submitted by the presidency, has been a major talking point.

According to The Nation, the senate in its executive session (held behind closed doors) discussed four major issues, being: the presumed breakdown of communication between the presidency and the national assembly; loss of public sympathy by the national assembly; the proposed Occupy National Assembly protest; and the negative effects of the budget impasse on the economy and the well-being of Nigerians.

A senator at the meeting, who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen: “At the Executive Session, we all agreed that the Senate appears to be losing the goodwill of Nigerians, especially on the row over the budget.

“We have received all the grey areas or mutilated items in the budget from the Presidency. The President indicated priority projects which ought to be in the budget.

“After exhaustive deliberations, we have set up a committee to review and harmonise all these gaps. The committee is composed of some senators and some members of the Executive, led by the Minister of Budget and National Planning.

“The committee will start sitting today with a Saturday deadline to complete its assignment.”

Another senator stated that the senate agreed there was “no need for Occupy National Assembly” planned by some Nigerians.

“We have agreed to address the budget impasse. We felt going the way of Occupy National Assembly will heat up the polity. We also cautioned individual Senators against running to the social media on issues in the Senate when there is enough freedom for all senators to air their views. Some of our colleagues are using the social media to destroy this hallowed chamber,” he said.

Source – The Nation