The Presidency on Monday welcomed back the Senate and the House of Representatives members as they resume for legislative work.
Sen Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National
Assembly Matters (Senate), in an interview with NAN, urged the federal
lawmakers to quickly settle down for work.
”Let me congratulate the Senate President, the Speakers, all
presiding and principal officers and all the distinguished senators and
honourable members of the House for a well-deserved annual legislative
vacation and welcome them back to work,” he said.
Enang, who noted that most of the lawmakers participated in the
conventions, congresses and other activities of different political
parties in the course of seeking nomination for one office or the other,
also wished them the best.
”I congratulate all of them and I pray that let the result, positive,
favourable or otherwise, not affect the way they will consider the
nation’s business.
”Let them please appreciate that they are senators and honourable
members of the National Assembly and the constitution entrusts the duty
on them and they should please exercise this duty with the greatest
show of patriotism, ” he said.
He reminded the lawmakers of the request by President Muhammadu
Buhari on the Supplementary Budget to provide for the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other sources of funding which
was still before them.
According to him, since almost all the political parties have
completed all their exercises, we are appealing to them to please
consider this budget expeditiously and pass it so that the nation’s
electoral process can move forward.
The SSA also urged them, as they resume, to consider the Electoral
Amendment Bill that would ensure the proper mode and method of
conducting the 2019 elections.
”Because funding the elections without setting the proper law that is
acceptable to all to guide the election will not be good,” he said.
He added that President Buhari had laid before the lawmakers the
request for borrowing to fund the 2018 Budget from the various windows
before they went on vacation.
”I also prayed them that before they proceeded on vacation, they had
passed the 2018 Budget. And in the 2018 Budget, there was provision for
borrowing.
”And the provision for borrowing can only be effected when the National Assembly approves it.
”We are therefore praying them to please consider this expeditiously
because Nigerians are crying and shouting: shouting because the budget
is not being implemented yet, because the budget passed without passing
the sources of funding the budget, without approving that the loan be
taken,” he said.
According to him, even if the monies were on the table, President
Muhammad Buhari will not touch the money unless and until they bring
together the approval by the National Assembly for that borrowing to be
gotten.