National Assembly will tinker with 2013 budget – Mark

David Mark

Senate President, Senator David Mark, renewed the controversy over whether or not the National Assembly has the power to tinker with the national budget.

Mark in his speech during the presentation of N4.92 trillion 2013 budget to the Joint Session of the National Assembly reminded President Goodluck Jonathan that the lawmakers are constitutionally empowered to make input into the budget.

The Senate President specifically told Jonathan that the constitution did not intend to turn the National Assembly into a mere mechanical rubber-stamp that must robotically pass budget estimates as presented.

Mark noted that the country’s budgets, from his experience since 1999, have been dogged by three main areas of controversy.

He listed the controversies to include the time of presentation of the estimates to the National Assembly; whether the National Assembly has the constitutional power to make inputs on the budget estimates; and implementation of the budget.

On the time of presentation, he said that it is gratifying to note that the 2013 budget estimates is being presented unprecedentedly in October, 2012.

“Yet, Mr. President, a compelling case can still be made for a consistently earlier presentation.

“This will allow for a meticulous and exhaustive consideration and debate and ensure that we work towards passing it before the end of the year,” he said.

As to whether the National Assembly has the power to make inputs to Appropriation Bills laid before it, Mark said that “our stand is that parliament is constitutionally empowered to make inputs.”

According to him “what the Constitution enjoins Mr. President to lay before the National Assembly are mere estimates, not immutable figures.”

Mark added that once the estimates are so laid, their consideration becomes subject to the constitutionally prescribed modes of exercising legislative power.”

He said, “Therefore, we do not think that the Constitution intended to turn the National Assembly into a mere mechanical rubber-stamp that must robotically pass budget estimates as presented.

“However, in exercising this constitutional power, we will be mindful of the fact that the social and economic challenges currently besetting our nation are the severest in our contemporary history. The National Assembly is also conscious of the fact that urgent steps need to be taken to address our dire infrastructural challenges.”