The Senate yesterday gave the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Governor, Godwin Emefiele, three days to submit details of President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for N23.7 trillion through Ways and Means for scrutiny.
The directive followed the failure of the principal parties to furnish the Red Chamber with the necessary fiscal documents to interrogate the Ways and Means advances by the CBN.
Recall that Buhari in December urged the Senate to approve the restructuring of the N23.7 trillion Ways and Means, which he said provides an alternative funding option that enables the Federal Government to cater for short term or emergency finance to finance delayed cash receipt of physical deficit.
Consequently, the Chamber set up an ad hoc committee, to carry out necessary legislative actions on it.
The panel, chaired by the Senate Leader, Ibrahim Gobir, thereafter, invited Ahmed, Emefiele, and other heads of Federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) relevant to the issue to present the fiscal document.
However, at the resumption of plenary after the New Year recess on Tuesday; Gobir informed his colleagues that the ad hoc panel had not been able to sit because details of the Ways and Means advances have not been provided by the executive.
Gobir told the Senate that attempts made by the committee from December 28, till date, to meet with Ahmed and Emefiele for the required details had proved abortive.
He said: “As a special committee for urgent and thorough assignment, we hit the ground running immediately after composition on 28th of December last year.
“For the required details on the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means Restructuring, six vital questions were raised, five for the CBN Governor and one for the Finance Minister, but their trips abroad prevented us from asking them the questions.
“Now that they are around, we request the Senate to give us additional three days for thorough work on the assignment and submission of the report.”
We must have the necessary information for passage of the N22.7 trillion request, and time is not on our side in the Senate now in view of the coming general elections.
Irked by the information, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, noted that the Ways and Means request from the President is a very serious issue that must not be taken with levity by the concerned parties.
He expressed the Senate’s readiness to approve the request after thorough scrutiny of the required details provided by the relevant officials.
Lawan said: “We must have the necessary information for passage of the N22.7 trillion request, and time is not on our side in the Senate now in view of the coming general elections.
“If there is a need for the Senate to sit up to Friday this week for thorough consideration and passage of the request, it will be done.
“However, the affected officials from the executive must also expedite action on the provision of the required information as regards documents authorising approval and disbursement of the monies totalling N22.7 trillion.”
The Senate therefore ordered the Minister of Finance and the CBN Governor, to within three days, provide the required information on the request to the ad hoc panel.
The lawmakers also warned that the National Assembly will adjourn plenary this week or latest by Tuesday next week, to enable them prepare fully for the upcoming general elections.
