Constitution Amendment: NASS reduces spending from CRF from six to three months 

The National Assembly has introduced major alterations in the Constitution to further check the powers of the executive arm of government at federal and state level, even as it has vowed to pass the recommendations of its constitution amendment panel this week.

The report of the  Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment was harmonised with that of the House of Representatives at a final meeting in Lagos recently.

Findings from the Joint Committee presided over by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and the House of Representatives’ Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, showed that the panel amended Sections 82 and 122 of the 1999 Constitution to reduce the period within which the President or the State Governor may authorise expenditure from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) from six months to three months.

Based on the current provisions, the President or Governor could make expenditures based on the provisions of the Appropriation Act of the preceeding year for up to six months, pending the approval of the budget for the current fiscal year.

It believed that this was why Presidents and Governors are not always keen to send in Appropriation Bill for an incoming fiscal year.

The Committee has equally recommended the amendment of Section 162 to abolish State Joint Local Government Account so that each council area could  maintain an independent special account into which allocations accruing to it shall be directly paid from the Federation Account and the State Government.

Other key issues in the report of the Joint Committee which was laid before the Senate last Thursday, is the recommendation of a uniform three-year tenure for all the local governments in the country.

The joint committee is of the view that tenures of local governments have been abused with some states reducing it to as low as one year.

It was also learnt that there is also a provision to ensure that monies allocated to Local Government are used for the purposes for which they were meant, including prompt and regular payment of primary school teachers’ salaries.

In the same token, Section 7 of the Constitution was altered to provide that only democratically elected Local Governments can receive allocation from Federation Accounts and State Governments and can be recognised by any authority or exercise any function exercisable by Local Governments in the Constitution.

According to the committee’s recommendations, Sections 58, 59, and 100 of the constitution would be altered  to provide 30 days timeframe for the President or Governor to assent to a bill passed by the National Assembly State Assemblies or indicate his refusal of assent.

“Where the President or governor does not indicate refusal to assent to a bill, it automatically becomes a law after 30 days.”

Furthermore, the new amendment mandates the President and state governors to appoint Ministers and Commissioners within 30 days of assumption of office.

Specifically, Section 147 of the Constitution was altered to provide that once the President or Governor takes oath of office, he has only 30 days within which to appoint his ministers of commissioners.

This, it was gathered, is to prevent a situation where President or governors appoint cabinet members at their own convenience.

Recall that it took over six months for President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint ministers, over two years for Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola to appoint cabinet members, even as his Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu is yet to appoint commissioners five months after assuming office.

 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja