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Fred Itua, Abuja
The Senate, yesterday, defended its decision to bar journalists from covering proceedings of the various standing committees in the ongoing budget defence by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The Senate suspended plenary on Tuesday for two weeks to enable heads of MDAs appear before the various committees to defend their 2020 budget estimates.
Already, some heads of MDAs have appeared before some committees. However, journalists detailed to cover the Senate were barred on Wednesday and Thursday from reporting the proceedings of some committees.
For instance, the Senate Committee on Primary Health, headed by Chukwuka Utazi, ordered journalists out of the hearing room as soon as ministers were done with the introduction.
This is the first time committees would be barring journalists from covering budget defence by heads of MDAs since 1999.
Addressing the issue yesterday, spokesman of the Senate, Adedayo Adeyeye, said the presence of journalists was a distraction to lawmakers out to conduct serious business.
He argued that, since journalists were not present when the executive was preparing the budget, the same should not be expected from the parliament. He, however, promised to ensure that chairmen of the various committees brief journalists at the end of the exercise.
“On secret meetings with MDAs, I have said that we shall liaise with relevant committees of the Senate to make sure that they allow proper coverage of their activities.
“It isn’t that they want to conduct budget defence in secrecy, but serious issues of budget defence don’t necessarily have to be open to the media.
“What I am saying is that, there is no secrecy, but they need to do serious work. I want us to believe that it is a serious matter. We want to discuss the issues seriously, genuinely and factually.
“The press can be called in, but sometimes the committees need their privacy to do their jobs. They can at the end of the day call the press. Do you want the committees to do everything in your presence? I don’t think it is proper.
“Were you there when the executive was preparing the budget? But the President came here to present it. The budget defence can be done behind closed doors, but then, whatever has been done, the best thing is to release it to the public and I think that is fair enough.
“There is nothing secret about this thing. They are looking at it item by item. They couldn’t have released it to the press. They can’t be waiting for the press, or invite you for all these things. We will encourage them to brief you on whatever has been done.
“There is no secrecy there. The budget has been prepared. The documents have been submitted to all senators and we are looking at them, item by item.
“We aren’t shielding the executive and that’s why we are calling on ministers and heads of MDAs to come and defend their budget.”
Adeyeye, who was recently sacked by the election tribunal but has appealed the verdict, did not respond to the recent job recruitment scandal involving the leadership of the Senate. Instead, he said he would make more findings and respond.
He said: “I am supposed to give you facts and, honestly, I am just hearing about this matter. I will need to investigate, make appropriate contact with the committee, get the gist of their investigation and also meet with the leadership of the Senate. Until then, I can’t say anything about it. I don’t want to tell you what isn’t correct.”
Asked if he was trying to shield his colleagues who were singled out, Adeyeye insisted that he was not aware of any deal with federal agencies.
“It is not correct. I told you I haven’t been in Abuja. I haven’t been around for some time. I have been so busy that I didn’t have the time to even check my Internet at all. That’s the truth. So, you don’t expect me to come here and give you incorrect information. That’s the truth. I need to conduct my own investigation, find out and brief you on it later.”
