Missing Budget: Saraki owns up.

…confirms setting up a search committee 
Senate investigates controversial budget
Strong indications emerged yesterday that the 2016 Appropriation Bill was actually missing from the custody of the National Assembly. President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, inadvertently admitted at the plenary that the bill was missing and a search committee was set up to locate the whereabouts of the document.
He also indicated that the committee had not reported back to the Chamber, pointing out that debate on the alleged missing budget had to wait till those given the assignment had brought a feedback to the upper legislative chamber. Saraki made these revelations while reacting to a Point of Order 42(1) from the Senate’s Standing Rule moved by Senator Eyinaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South) on the media reports about the missing budget.
The Senate president, who said he would have over-ruled Abaribe on the Point of Order for not consulting with him earlier before bringing it up on the floor, however, explained that he had to attend to the matter because of its relative importance to Nigerians.
The Senate president said: “You know you supposed to see me on this matter before bringing it up on the floor, but because of the importance, I will give attention to it. You know we were all part of the decision at the close session yesterday. 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, and we will go into a close session and finish up the report and we will be able to debate it properly.” Abaribe, while moving the point of order, said: “The matter that I referred to is what is in every newspaper today; everywhere, in all the talk shows on the radio, of a missing budget. “Mr. President, I want to bring to your attention and all my colleagues, that yesterday in our close session, this matter also came up and some of us who are worried, who have been inundated by messages from our constituents, who are really worried about what their fate will be in 2016 are asking us, where is our budget.
“That is why, Mr. President, I think it is definite and it is urgent that we look into this matter.” Saraki, who appeared to have been taken unawares by the point of order, entertained it and made comments that betrayed the fact that there were issues pertaining to the whereabouts of the budget.
Saraki, who seemed to be thrown off balance, initially hesitated to speak on the matter, but in another thought, obviously avoiding the suspicion and condemnation of Nigerians, who were watching the live telecast of the session, reluctantly treated the issue. The Senate president had virtually succeeded in convincing the public that the story was a mirage.
Saraki had, after the Chamber approved the votes and proceedings of the previous legislative session, quickly announced that copies of the 2016 budget were being produced. He also added that members of the Upper Chamber would begin to receive their copies today while debate on the bill would commence on Tuesday, January 19.
The president of the Senate further asked members who had intention to make contributions to the budget to indicate interest before the consideration of the debate would commence. Unfortunately for those who had wanted to conceal the controversial “mysterious” disappearance of the nation’s budget for the year, Abaribe’s point of order brought to the fore, the game being played by both the executive and legislative arms of government.
Hours after the Senate concluded plenary, the spokesman of the Chamber came out to deny that the 2016 budget was missing. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, in a statement issued at 4.55p.m., said that no statement made by any senator during the plenary yesterday could be interpreted to mean an admission that the 2016 budget was missing.
He said there was no budget missing and that the Senate would, today, distribute copies of the budget to all the senators so as to arm them to properly contribute to the debate, which would take place between Tuesday, January 19 and Thursday, January 21. He said that all senators had indicated the date they would make their own contributions on the budget.
Abdullahi said: “We have reeled out our timetable for working on the budget. So, how can the same budget be missing? The Senate president never said or admitted that the budget is missing and there was nothing that he said while presiding over the plenary that could be logically interpreted to mean an admission that the budget is missing.
“The media should please avoid unnecessary sensationalism. We assure Nigerians that our timetable of completing work on the budget by February ending remains sacrosanct and we will work assiduously to achieve it,” he said. But some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators have confirmed that the 2016 Appropriation Bill was actually missing.
The lawmakers also acknowledged that the Senate has mandated some senators to investigate the matter and report back to the chamber for appropriate action. Chairman of the committee mandated to investigative the controversy, Senator Sam Anyanwu (PDP, Imo West), later confirmed to journalist that the Senate was indeed investigating the controversial issue around the budget.
“First of all, let me say that there is nothing like missing budget, but we are investigating an issue, which is controversial about the 2016 budget,” he said. Anyanwu, however, said that everything would be resolved today before the Senate resumes plenary. Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP, Delta North), who also spoke to journalists in Abuja, confirmed that the matter was no longer at the realm of speculation, but a reality. He said:
“The document is missing. We want to find out. We have interviewed some people so far this morning. We are continuing in the next few minutes with our investigation. And we are almost at it. We will conclude in the next few hours because we have already known what is happening.”
New Telegraph had reported yesterday that there was confusion at the National Assembly over the speculation that the 2016 Appropriation Bill got missing from the custody of the apex legislative complex. The Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, reportedly raised the alarm at the closed-door session that the document could no longer be found within the National Assembly. Our correspondent learnt that the Senate, at the closed-door session, mandated the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, to lead a search team for the document.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives publicly displayed copies of the budget submitted by President Buhari at yesterday’s plenary. This is even as Speaker Yakubu Dogara again dismissed reports on the disappearance of the budget, describing media reports on the missing of the budget as “unfounded rumour.”
At yesterday’s sitting of the House, shortly after the approval of the votes and proceedings of Tuesday’s sitting, Dogara directed the clerk of the House, Alhaji Mohammed Omolori to bring out copies of the budget for the lawmakers to sight.
The clerk immediately brought out a carton from which he brought out about four copies of the document, displaying them to the admiration of the lawmakers who watched in ecstasy. After the public display, the speaker announced that copies of the budget were ready for collection by lawmakers at the secretariat of the House Committee on Appropriation. He appealed to House members or their staffers with identity to come for the collection of their own copies of the budget, adding that its consideration by the House commences immediately.
Addressing the issue of disappearance of the budget, he said: “The media should always verify the information they send to the public and also seek clarification on certain matters when it becomes necessary to do so.” The House has slated next week to commence debate on the budget.
The media have been awash with reports since last week that Buhari had withdrawn the documents to enable him effect some adjustments in necessary areas. However, officials of the National Assembly and the Presidency consistently refuted the speculation, describing it as baseless rumour, until yesterday, when the drama on the floor of the Senate let the cat out of the bag.