President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday rejected the National Assembly’s approval for refund of N488.7 billion to state governments for projects they executed on behalf of the Federal Government in their domains.
The President, who communicated his decision on the matter through a letter read by the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki, at plenary on Tuesday, said that the National Assembly’s approval violated the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
He recalled that whereas the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a total of N487.8 billion for the purpose, the National Assembly raised the amount N488.7 billion, representing N890 million higher than what the FEC approved.
President Buhari stated further that a review of the NASS’ approval, communicated through a July 27, 2018 letter, also reflected discrepancies in the number of states submitted by FEC and those approved by the lawmakers.
He clarified: “While FEC approved reimbursement to 25 states, the National Assembly approved reimbursement to 21 states. Ex-agitators commend NASS over passage of Amnesty Bill.
“The National Assembly did not approve any reimbursement to four states, that is, Bauchi, Delta, Kogi and Taraba, whereas FEC approved reimbursement for them.
“Note that the amount approved by the National Assembly for reimbursement to 21 states is higher than the amount approved by FEC for reimbursement to 25 states”, the president added.
Similarly, the President maintained that the amount approved by the lawmakers for each of the 21 states was higher than that approved by FEC for each of them, except for Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano and Niger.
While urging the lawmakers to note that the Public Procurement Act 2007 empowers the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to approve vendors for contract sums, President Buhari pointed out that the amounts presented to the National Assembly for approval were duly certified for reimbursement by the BPP before they were approved by FEC.
According to him, the approval was after the projects had been inspected through a programme under the chairmanship of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, stressing that there is the need for compliance with the Public Procurement Act, 2007 on the refund matter.
He stated: “I wish to request that you forward to us details relating to the amounts approved by the National Assembly for the 17 states in excess of what was certified by BPP, for necessary verification and approval.
“Furthermore, I wish to request for a review of the reimbursement earlier submitted in favour of Bauchi, Delta, Kogi and Taraba states”, the president added.
Despite his rejection of the recommended refunds by the National Assembly, the president said that the Federal Government would commence with the implementation of the reimbursement on certain grounds.
For instance, he stated that where the amount approved by the legislature is the same as the amount approved by FEC the jointly approved amounts would be refunded. He listed the states affected in this category as Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano and Niger.
In addition, the president stated that where the amount approved by the National Assembly was higher than the amount approved by FEC, the amount approved by FEC would be paid.
President Buhari listed states covered under this category as Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Benue, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau and Zamfara.
He stated that four states namely, Bauchi, Delta, Kogi and Taraba excluded in the National Assembly’s approval would not be refunded until their claims are considered by the lawmakers.
