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| Nigeria's National Assembly |
Senators yesterday
resolved to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari next week to end the budget
row—amicably.
The
Nation report continues:
The
meeting is to take place either Monday or Tuesday, depending on the
President’s choice.
Ahead
of next week’s meeting, the Senate has raised a committee to review
the disputed items in the budget and harmonize them in line with what was
presented to the National Assembly by the President, who has sent a list of the
grey areas and mutilated items to the National Assembly. One of such areas is
the Calabar-Lagos rail project.
The
senators’ decision to meet with the President was the highlight of yesterday’s
Executive Session.
Most
senators were disturbed by four things at the closed door meeting, a
source said. These are:
o
breakdown
of communication between the Presidency and the National Assembly;
o
loss
of public sympathy by the National Assembly;
o
the
proposed Occupy National Assembly protest; and
o
negative
effects of the budget impasse on the economy and the well-being of Nigerians.
It
was gathered that most senators at the meeting were unhappy that public opinion
was weighing against the National Assembly.
A
committee comprising the chairmen of the Appropriation Committee (Danjuma Goje
-Senate and Abdulmumin Jibrin-House of Representatives) and the Minister of
Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo-Udoma and others was formed.
The
source, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “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 harmonize
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 said: “All senators resolved to meet with the President on Monday
or Tuesday as part of a new rapprochement with the Executive.
“We
want to bridge the communication gap and correct the impression that we are up
in arms to frustrate the Buhari administration.
“To
us, Nigeria is greater than any individual or institution. We don’t want the
nation to travel this road all over. When we meet with the President, we will
also make our views known on certain lapses, which we have observed on the part
of the Executive.
“All
of us decided to meet with the President at the Villa instead of sending a
few who might not represent us well. It is left for the President to give us a
convenient date.”
Another
senator said the Senate agreed that 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.”
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