9th NASS won’t be rubber-stamp –Reps

 Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representatives has said that, unlike what obtained  in the past, the Appropriation Bill would, henceforth, be given speedy consideration. 

Chairman of yhe Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, stated this in a chat with journalists in Abuja, at the weekend.

Abba-Ibrahim noted that the era when Appropriation bills spent as long as five months in the parliament, before it is passed, is now a thing of the past.

The House spokesperson stated that this is in line with the commitment of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila; that it will no longer be business as usual in the House.

According to her, unlike in the Eighth Assembly, where the relationship between the Legislature and the Executive arms of government was not too cordial, the Ninth Assembly is determined to harmoniously with the executive in the interest of the country.

‘We are going to work together because nobody can deny the fact that Nigeria is our country and we need to protect the interest of the country. Just that we practise separation of powers; we have the legislature, judiciary and we have the executive – those three arms of government are separate in their entities and separate in their ideals, but that doesn’t mean they should be at loggerheads.

“They should work together in order to make the country move ahead.

“Wastage of time during budget and all that are things of the past. As soon as the budget comes, we will be able to pass it since our role is appropriation, oversight and legislation. So, we will do all those as and when we are required to do – on time,” Khadija stated.

She added that “it is not as if we are going to be a rubber-stamp parliament; no. We are doing to work as partner in progress with the executive. Where this going to be any kind of objection, we will do it in a matured manner.

“We will not throw our dirty linen in public; we will do it in a matured and concise manner because we are partners in progress. We are not enemies, we are not competing with one another.”