In its reaction to the board of the Securities and Exchange Commission approving the 2013 budget of the commission without resorting to the National Assembly, the Senate has made a major U-turn, claiming that the issue of Oteh’s sacking and the zero budget for the commission was the House’s idea, not theirs.
Clause 10 of the bill disallowed SEC from making any expenditure this year without the prior authorization of the National Assembly.
It reads, “All revenue however so described, including all fees received, fines, grants, budgetary provisions and all internally and externally generated revenue shall not be spent by the Securities and Exchange Commission for recurrent or capital purposes or for any other matters, nor liabilities thereon incurred except with the prior appropriation and approval by the National Assembly.
However, the six-man board for the SEC led by Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa which was inaugurated by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on January 15, 2013 approved the 2013 budget of the commission despite its zero budget allocation.
The board resolution was later incorporated in the 2013 Appropriation Bill passed by both chambers on December 20, 2012.
The Senate in its reaction claimed that it was not involved in the conflict.
The spokesman for the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, told one of our correspondents that the Senate was also not concerned about how SEC ran its affairs.
He said, “The issues with SEC are the business of the House of Representatives.We will not be doing the job of the board of SEC; we have passed the (federal) budget the way it is and you know why we passed it on that date. We did that because of the deadline.”
However, another senator, Femi Lanlehin, differed in his opinion
He stated, “It is the leadership of the National Assembly in conjunction with the membership, that will decide on the next line of action on the removal of Oteh.”
The House, on the other hand, warned SEC not to touch the budget “purported” to have been approved for it by the board.
The Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamiala, said, “It will be a criminal offence; it will be a breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 and above all, an infringement of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).If it is true, then the House will meet in plenary to discuss this criminal offence and take a stance.”
A top official in the commission confided in one of our correspondents that the commission had yet to feel the negative impact of the National Assembly’s zero allocation.
The source said since the commission was not dependent on the government to fund its operation, the decision by the National Assembly might not have significant impact.
Ndanusa had on January 15 during an interview, shortly after the inauguration of the board, said the new board would immediately work with Okonjo-Iweala to settle the rift between the embattled Oteh and the National Assembly.