The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said no member of the National Assembly can be investigated or prosecuted for performing the legislative duty of passing an Appropriation Act.Dogara made this known at a ‘Civil Society Dialogue Session’ in Abuja on the ‘One Year of the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House’. Speaking on the 2016 budget, Dogara said, “The Constitution talks about the estimates of revenue and expenditure to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly. The Constitution did not mention the word budget. The reason is very simple. Budget is a law. Going by very pedestrian understanding of law, which even a year one law student knows, the functions of the government are such that the legislature makes the law, the executive implements and the judiciary interprets the law. The budget being a law, therefore, means it is only the parliament that can make it. I challenge all of us in the media and civil society organisations to look at our law and state where it is written that the President can make a budget.”
On the allegations that the budget was padded, Dogara further said, ““What I am saying is further reinforced by Section 80(4) of the Constitution, which says that no money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other fund of the federation except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly. I want this thing to sink so that we can understand it from here and perhaps it may change the ongoing discourse. You say the National Assembly doesn’t have the powers to tinker with the budget; that we should just pass it. But when it is prepared, we turn it into a bill. If it is a bill, how do other bills make progression in the parliament in order to become laws? If you contend that we cannot tinker with the Appropriation Bill, even though it is a money bill, it therefore goes without saying that we cannot tinker with any Executive Bill. Because, if they (Executive) bring a bill, they will not consult the public to say come and give us your inputs on this bill. It is the legislature that does that by the instrumentality of public hearing. When we aggregate your views, it is only our duty as representatives of the people to make sure that your voices are reflected. So, by the time we hear from you, we now turn it into a legislative bill, and when it gets to the President and he signs, they say some people have padded the bill.”
On reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the police and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission will investigate the alleged padding, Dogara said, “It doesn’t make sense. They have forgotten about the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act, sections 24, 30 and others, which state that most of the things we do in the National Assembly are privileged. There cannot be grounds for any investigation into the procedures or proceedings against a member of parliament; either the Speaker or the President of the Senate; once they are done in the exercise of their proper functions. The law is there; you can go and read it. This is in order to give independence to the legislature. If the legislature is not independent, we can’t do anything. If whatever you say on the floor of the House or either in the committee is subject to litigation, then all the members will be in court. At the end of the day, when debate comes, you cannot even air your view. The budget is a law and nobody can object to the fact that only the legislature can make the law and only the parliament that can conclude it.”
