LEGISREPORTS NG Return of the 2013 Appropriation Act to the National Assembly for amendment does not prevent the executive arm from implementing it hence the presidency has no excuse whatsoever in delaying its full implementation, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. John Owan-Enoh said yesterday in Calabar, Cross River State. In his opening speech at the three-day strategic retreat on the implementation of the budget organized by the Policy And Legal Advocacy Centre [PLAC] in conjunction with the British Department for International Development [DFID], Owan-Enoh said delay in amending certain clauses in the Act as demanded by the presidency was not enough not to implement the budget. One of the clauses which the presidency is seeking amendment to, is the demand that the relevant authorities submit to the National Assembly quarterly income and expenditure for vetting so as to know if the budget was being implemented to the letter and challenges if any. He said the law does not provide for amendment of the budget after it has been assented to but submission of supplementary budget either for upward or downward review of the estimates adding that most Nigerians seem not to know the workings of the legislature and how budget should be prepared and implemented. The chairman observed that the retreat was the second in the series on the 2013 Appropriation Act and reminded the executive that in a democracy, anything done outside the budget is illegal noting that the retreat was taking place against the background of the challenge of over/under budgeting and non-implementation of budget to the letter. Executive director of PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo said the retreat with the theme ‘’Budgeting and Challenges of Appropriation in Nigeria’’, was meant to keep members of the Appropriation Committee and by extension the House of Representatives abreast of the 2013 budget and unforeseen developments in the course of its execution. His centre, he added, also organized the retreat as its contribution to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria more so as it was desirous of the Nigerian government delivering the dividends of democracy to the citizenry as enshrined in the fiscal estimates for each year. Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Mr Efiok Cobham who declared the retreat open, urged resource persons to do justice to the theme of the retreat given that it was incumbent on elected public officials to demonstrate transparency and accountability in governance. Budget, he said, was necessary as it helps in planning but ‘’we must always monitor the performance of budget especially capital expenditure. We should not place emphasis only on the recurrent expenditure as it is capital estimates that bring about the execution of capital projects that are beneficial to the people’’. He advised those in government to think of revenue-driven budget to plug loopholes than expenditure-driven budget stressing that fiscal votes should encompass every aspect of governance as government exist for the people and has many responsibilities. Cobham said in Cross River, there was a cordial working relationship between the executive and the legislature which helps in rancour-free administration and effective implementation of the budget through medium term expenditure framework approach and other measure to instill fiscal discipline just as contracts are awarded on the basis of competence in line with the due process procedures.
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