The House made the resolution last week following a motion moved by Albert Sam-Tsokwa, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing Takum/ Donga/Ussa Federal Constituency, Taraba State, and 20 other members, in a motion entitled: “Poor implementation of the 2012 Budget,” noting that, “while the recurrent expenditure has kept pace with expectations, capital budget implementation seriously lags behind and leaves much to be desired.”
The lawmakers have therefore given the executive up till the end of September to implement the budget 100 per cent, or they would commence impeachment proceedings against the President.
Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe in a telephone interview last night said members of the Upper Legislative chamber would not be part of the move, stating that at no time did the upper parliament consider such a line of action before it embarked on its current annual vacation.
He also said the Senate had not had any cause to reconvene or meet at a caucus level to consider such move.
“You are aware that the Senate is currently on vacation and I cannot recall the Senate debating such a motion before it went on break,” Abaribe told Sunday Mirror.
He noted that, “there is no way such a decision could be taken without it being discussed extensively,” noting that, “even the issue had to be discussed by the upper chamber before it became public.”
Abaribe said the Senate speaks on such matters through a resolution and that it would be wrong for anybody to use the position of an individual senator as the view of the entire upper chamber.
A national newspaper (not Sunday Mirror) reported yesterday that the Senate may write President Goodluck Jonathan and express its displeasure over the slow pace of the implementation of the 2012 Budget, thus paving the way for the upper parliament to join their colleagues in the lower chamber to commence the compilation of impeachment offences against Jonathan.
Meanwhile, the National leadership of the PDP has begun the process of mending the misunderstanding between the executive and National Assembly to see how the issue can be resolved diplomatically.
Deputy National Chairman of the party, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, who made the clarification in Abuja yesterday explained that even though those who were making impeachment threats might have good grounds for doing so, it was not bothered as it was not the first time a president was being threatened with impeachment.
He explained that the party had noted the issues and discussed the ramifications extensively at its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting and resolved that the best way to approach the matter was to be diplomatic.
Said he: “It is not the first time a president has been threatened with impeachment, not only in this our country. In America, several presidents had been threatened with impeachment and of course what the party is doing is taking up the process, because there is a process with which the party meet the people.
“It is true that many of them are PDP people. I agree, but they have their grievances. We will not also say that because they are all not PDP people we will lord it over them. This thing must be attended to diplomatically, so that wherever anybody has gone wrong, it will be sorted out and eventually, this storm will definitely die down. Meanwhile, a number of opposition parties including Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) have pledged their support for the move to impeach the President.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Engr Rotimi Fashakin, said the party was in support of the decision as a right step in the right direction.
Fashakin said: “Since the Appropriation Act was not implemented, and the House of Representatives has given the President from now till September to fully implement the Appropriation Act, and if he fails they would proceed on impeachment, it is a right decision by the House of Representatives.”
The spokesman added that the issue of impeachment should be seen as a way of checking the President, and a way also to make the him do the right thing. He asked Nigerians to support the decision of the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has, however, said the chances of a 100 per cent implementation of the 2012 Budget was not possible by the end of September as given by the House of Representatives.
According to her, as at 20th of July, 56 per cent of the 2012 Budget had been implemented from the 39 per cent achieved by May, 2012.
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