STATEMENT ON THE DECISION OF THE SENATE TO OVERRIDE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO ON THE AMENDMENT OF SECTIONS 81 AND 121 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 (AS AMENDED)

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) commends the Senate of the National Assembly (NASS) for its decision to override the presidential veto on the bill to amend sections 81 and 121 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended.

CSJ recalls the intervention of NASS in the amendment of sections 81 and 121 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. The two sections prescribe the timeframe for the presentation of Federal and State budget estimates by the President and Governors to the NASS and the State Houses of Assembly respectively.

The amendment (Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 [Fourth Alteration, No. 28] Bill, 2017) proposes that instead of the old order, where the President and Governors present the budget estimates at any time in each financial year, they would now be bound to present same not later than 90 days to the end of the financial year. The amendment proposes a new subsection 1 (a) to the two sections by giving a time line to NASS and State Houses of Assembly to pass the budget for the incoming year before the end of the financial year in which the budget estimates is presented, vis before the commencement of the next financial year.  Essentially, budgets will no longer be presented late or approved late like what happened in the last three years. The budget for the year will now be ready on or before January 1 of every year.

This amendment had secured the approval of both Houses of NASS and that of the required majority of State Houses of Assembly in accordance with section 9 of the Constitution. But the President refused to give assent to the Bill to become law and gave as his reason the provision of section 58 (4) of the Constitution, which to all intents and purposes, had no relevance to the amendment. For the avoidance of doubt, section 58 (4) of the Constitution states that: Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within thirty days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent. This refusal to give assent questions the quality of advice available to the President from his legal advisers.

We therefore call on the Senate and the House of Representatives to move expeditiously to pass the bill by two thirds majority for the bill to become law so that the assent of the President will no longer be required. This call is based on the understanding that there can be no meaningful reform of the budgeting process without fixing the timeframe for presentation and approval of the budget. In making this call, we are convinced that the President has not benefitted from proper advice before refusing assent to the bill. Evidently, this bill should have been a celebrated quick win for the administration considering that the President had, in many speeches, declared the intention of the executive to restore the financial year to the January to December timeline.

Eze Onyekpere Esq.

Lead Director