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04:28
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poor budget implementation by the President.
Amid a mixed public reaction that appears to have emboldened its
position, the House of Representatives on Monday insisted that its
resolution to impeachment President Goodluck Jonathan over poor budget
implementation remained firm and unshakable.
The House said in a statement that the move, which it has now
confirmed to be its official resolution, was "noble, bold and
patriotic" and would not be forced down by "intimidation and
blackmail".
Spokesperson Muhammad Zakari also denied that the resolution was
either sponsored by an opposition political party or borne out of
lawmakers' grievance over the fuel subsidy bribery scandal involving
its member, Farouk Lawan, and the legislators' inability to secure
constituency project allowance.
"No amount of blackmail or intimidation would cow us to abdicate our
constitutional responsibility which we signed with our employers the
(Nigerian people) to stand firm and protect their interest," Mr.
Zakari said.
The notice followed intense meetings between the presidency and the
leadership of the National Assembly over the weekend, according to
reports, amid the controversy that has been generated by the House
decision last Thursday.
In a well-backed motion on Thursday, initiated by Sam Tsokwa(PDP,
Taraba state), and amended by Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, to
reflect the impeachment proviso, the lawmakers said Mr. Jonathan had
until September to implement the budget or be forced out.
At present, national budget performance averaged 30 per cent, the
House Appropriation committee chairman, John Enoh, said, despite
impressive revenue yields from all government sectors.
A touchy subject that has, for years, elicited stormy exchanges
between the executive and the legislature, Nigeria's budget
implementation, since 1999, has not performed more than 50 per cent.
In the past, governments have cited dwindling revenue and at times
accused the lawmakers of padding allocations, during appropriation
exercise, beyond what it could implement.
This time, all government revenue generating projections have been met
for the first two quarters of 2012.
The House of Reps' position this time, one of its fiercest yet, has
been applauded as much as it has been condemned.
"The President, by failing to implement the budget as passed by this
honourable House, violates the 1999 Constitution and is therefore
liable to be impeached under section 143 of the 1999 Constitution",
Mr. Gbajabiamila had said.
"So therefore, I want to hereby submit that, come September, we will
begin to invoke and draw up articles of impeachment of Mr. President",
he declared before he was forcefully interrupted by a colleague that
represents President Jonathan's constituency in the House."
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties backed the threat in a
statement on Sunday. Spokesperson, Osita Okechukwu, said it was
"patriotic, germane and timely."
"We are at a loss how the gross unemployment, dilapidated
infrastructure and decadence of social services can be addressed
without implementation of the Budget," Mr. Okechukwu said.
Critics have accused the lawmakers of acting a routine script that has
only been triggered by the strings of clashes it has had with the
presidency lately.
Spokesperson of the House, Mr. Zakari, however claimed the House was
acting in the interest of the public, to forestall a degeneration of
an already fragile state of the nation.
"To then insinuate that the House of Representatives took this noble
step to satisfy pressure from a political party or because the
constituency projects were not awarded to members or because of the
drama that followed the presentation of the fuel subsidy report, is to
say the least maliciously damaging and uncharitable to the image of
the Assembly," he said.
"To assume that we are guided by some forces outside the House of
Representatives is mischievous and a deliberate ploy to misrepresent
the House before the Nigerian public."
SaharaReporters
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