President Buhari in another battle with NASS

President Muhammadu Buhari has again stirred up a cold war with members of the the National Assembly.The president  rejected the National Assembly’s approval for the refund of N488.7 billion to State Governments for projects they executed on behalf of the Federal Government.

President Buhari”s  decision  was communicated through a letter read by the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, at plenary on Tuesday.

The president said he rejected the National Assembly’s approval because it violated the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

He noted that whereas the Federal Executive Council approved a total of N487.8 billion for the purpose, the National Assembly jerked up the figure to N488.7 billion.

He said the amount approved by the lawmakers was N890 million higher than that approved by FEC.

The president noted  that the amount approved by the lawmakers for each of the 21 states was higher than that approved by FEC for each of them, except for Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano and Niger States.

The President therofere advised the Senate to note that the Public Procurement Act 2007 empowers the Bureau of Public Procurement to approve vendors for contract sums.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has told the lawmakers that the federal government will proceed with the implementation of the reimbursement on certain grounds.

First, he said where the amount approved by the national assembly is the same as the amount approved by FEC the jointly approved amounts would be refunded.

He identified the states in this category as Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano and Niger.

Second, the president said where the amount approved by the National Assembly was higher than the amount approved by FEC, the amount approved by FEC would be paid.

The benefiting states on this are Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Benue, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau and Zamfara States.

He said the four states (Bauchi, Delta, Kogi and Taraba) excluded in the NASS approval would not be refunded until their consideration by the lawmakers.

The President decision might just be another war between the Executives and the Legislators.

(Breaking Times News Nigeria)