Senators reportedly reject Pres. Buhari’s emergency powers bill, say it’ll turn him into a Tyrant
Some Senators have rejected
the proposed "Emergency Economic Stabilisation Bill 2016" President
Buhari is planning to send to the National Assembly for the lawmakers to grant
him emergency powers to enable him take some decisions that will help to push
his planned stimulus for the economy without consulting them.
According to Thisday, many of the senators who have spoke on condition of anonymity, say the bill if passed, will turn President Buhari into a tyrant. They say the bill will not see the light of day and that it is dead on arrival.
The senators accused President Buhari of repeatedly trampling on the powers of the legislature even without any extra power and that if the proposed emergency power is granted to him, the President would more or less reduce the National Assembly to a rubber stamp like the kinds of legislature that exist in China and Russia.
A source at the presidency told newsmen over the weekend that the proposed Emergency Economic Stability bill is geared towards addressing the bottlenecks in contract issuance, payment for contracts, release of funds, visa issuance for expatriates and other areas that if addressed will help the country economically.
The bill is based on recommendations by the National Economic Council which is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The bill if passed will give President Buhari power to:
·
abridge the procurement
process to support stimulus spending on critical sectors of the economy;
·
make orders to favour
local contractors/suppliers in contract awards;
·
abridge the process of
sale or lease of government assets to generate revenue;
·
allow virement of
budgetary allocation to projects that are urgent, without going back to the
National Assembly.
·
amend certain laws, such
as the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act, so that states that cannot
access their cash trapped in the accounts of the commission because they cannot
meet the counterpart funding, can do so; and
·
to embark on radical
reforms in visa issuance at Nigeria’s consular offices and on arrival in the
country and to compel some agencies of government like the Corporate Affairs
Commission (CAC), the National Agency for Foods Administration and Control
(NAFDAC) and others to improve on their turn around operation time for the
benefit of business.
No comments:
Post a Comment