Cosmas Ekpunobi
23 December 2011
Senate yesterday said it did not at any time bare President Goodluck Jonathan from drawing from the 2011 budget beyond December 31.
Instead, it said it empowered the President to extend the spending to March 31, 2012. Chairman of the Senate committee on business and rules Ita Enang was reported to have said the 2011 budget would end December 31.
Enang was reported to have said the process to empower the President to draw from the budget up to March 31, 2012 has not been completed.
But spokesman of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe in a reaction yesterday said Enag was on his own. He said the executive wanted the extension and we ‘gave them’.
He said the two chambers had earlier agreed to allow the President to extend the budget to March 31, 2012.
Senate leader Ndoma-Egba in a separate reaction said: “Those must be the personal views of Senator Enang because you can recall that the House of Representatives passed the new timeline and we concurred.
“You would also recall that in the course of the consideration of the virement, there was a joint resolution of both houses that the lifespan of this budget should be extended to March 31 and beyond that, both houses have concurred.
“So, there is no basis for Enang’s comments on the status of the budget…”said Ndoma-Egba. But senator Enag in a reaction yesterday insisted that he was misquoted. Senator Enang in a press statement made available to Daily Champion yesterday said that he was aware of the said agreement to extend the 2011 budget and there fore could not have said any thing to the contrary. He urged the media to verify their facts before.
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