THE National Conference Committee
on Politics and Governance has recommended late submission of budget by
the executive as an impeachable offence just as it pegged deadline of
budget presentation before the legislature at September 30th of every.
If this recommendation sails through at the
plenary billed to resume today and is subsequently captured in the
constitution, any president who approaches the legislature with yearly
budget beyond September 30th stands the risk of being impeached from
office for breach of the constitution.
Former Minister of Information and
Co-Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana, who briefed newsmen in
Abuja on some of the recommendations of the committee, said it became
imperative for the committee to inject the national budget cycle in the
Constitution, given the crises it has generated over the years due to
late submission.
Gana said the committee co-chaired by himself
and Chief Olu Falae, frowned at what he referred to as “unnecessary
delay on budget presentation and implementation by successive
governments.”
The politician disclosed that his committee
also recommended the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, in order to ensure conduct of free, fair and credible
election in the country just as he said it equally recommended the
establishment of a special court for trial of corruption-related cases,
saying such would strengthen the nation’s anti-corruption agencies.
“We have made a very firm resolution of
making sure that the budget cycle is put in the constitution. What we
are recommending is that the Constitution should say, latest by 30th
September or earliest working day before the 30th of September, the
budget must be presented to the National Assembly.
“It will be an impeachable offence for
anybody not to present budget before 30th of September. Then the
National Assembly has the rest of October, November or latest 31st of
December, or the earliest working day before the 31st of December, which
the budget must be approved ready for implementation from January 1,”
he said.
Prof. Gana regretted that a lot of time was
often being wasted on budget processes, noting that such gave rise to
his committee’s recommendation.
“We have recommended that budget cycle should
be in the constitution and therefore as it were, you will be
contravening the constitution if you don’t present the budget by 30 of
September, ” he insisted.
Speaking on his committee’s recommendation
for the establishment of a special court to try corruption cases, Prof.
Gana, explained that the nation’s courts were at the moment being filled
with cases, a situation he noted, always lead to delay in dispensation
of justices.
He said the new order was to make special
arrangements to run through the matters expeditiously and dispense the
issues being looked at by the courts.
“We also took a series of decisions on
corruption, and anti-corruption and the question of national ethics. We
made a number of recommendations that if implemented will help Nigeria
to be corruption-free country.
“This includes recommendation on setting up a
special court to try corruption cases. Because right now cases are left
in the courts for a very long time and we think we should have
specialized courts to deal with this very rapidly, also fairly and
justly,” he further clarified.
Gana, who emphasized the importance of
conduct of free, fair and credible elections in the country, disclosed
that his committee also recommended that the INEC be unbundled into two
institutions.
He explained that the INEC as presently
constituted would deal only with arrangement for a free, fair and
credible election, while another commission should be established to
specifically deal with electoral offences.
He said: “The electoral offences should now
be handled by Electoral Offences Commission, so that we don’t want to
burden INEC with that because there are thousands of people that are
involved in this and then it takes a lot of INEC attention. INEC
attention should be on the conduct of good elections.”
Source: VANGUARD
REF http://www.premiumtimesng.com/national-conference/late-submission-budget-now-impeachable-offence-confab/
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