Written by Idowu Samuel, Abuja Wednesday, 03 October 2012
THE House of Representatives will, today, begin a full scale investigation into the fiscal policies of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government with every committee embarking on oversighting of every departments of government.
Indications that the House was serious with the probe initiative, emerged with a stern instruction to all committees and members alike never to take or demand gratification from any ministry or agency of government, threatening to sanction anyone who flouted the rule.
Some members of the House, in separate chats with the Nigerian Tribune disclosed that each member and committee had been adequately mobilised financially for the oversight function which would run for the rest of the week, even as a recess had been declared by the leadership to that effect.
The Speaker of the House, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, had also directed through memos to heads of committees that the process of oversight of ministries and agencies of government should be held in the open, a reason the House made it mandatory for each committee to include pressmen in its team.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had earlier rejected the plan by President Jonathan to hold a joint session with them for the presentation of Budget 2013.
It is now apparent that the joint sitting will no longer hold this week as desired by the president.
In a sweep reaction however, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Matters, Dr Doyin Okupe, attributed the development to the beauty of democracy, noting that the legislative arm of government enjoys the privilege of self-determination in presidential democracy, which he stressed guarantees separation of powers for all the arms of government.
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Reps begin full probe of Jonathan’s 2012 fiscal policy today