Reports say some Senators are not in support of the proposed “Emergency Economic Stabilization Bill 2016” which President Mohammadu Buhari is planning to send to the National Assembly.
The bill is asking the lawmakers to grant the president emergency powers to enable him take some decisions that will help to push his planned stimulus for the economy without consulting them.
Thisday reports that many of the senators who have spoken on condition of anonymity, say the bill if passed, will turn the president into a tyrant, adding that the bill will not see the light of day and that it is dead on arrival.
The senators reportedly accused President Buhari of repeatedly trampling on the powers of the legislature even without any extra power and that if the proposed emergency power is granted to him, the President would more or less reduce the National Assembly to a rubber stamp like the kinds of legislature that exist in China and Russia.
A presidency source said that the proposed Emergency Economic Stability bill is geared towards addressing the bottlenecks in contract issuance, payment for contracts, release of funds, visa issuance for expatriates and other areas that if addressed will help the country economically.
The bill is based on recommendations by the National Economic Council which is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
President Buhari will have the following powers if the bill is allowed to sail through:
- abridge the procurement process to support stimulus spending on critical sectors of the economy;
- make orders to favour local contractors/suppliers in contract awards;
- abridge the process of sale or lease of government assets to generate revenue;
- allow vehement of budgetary allocation to projects that are urgent, without going back to the National Assembly.
- amend certain laws, such as the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act, so that states that cannot access their cash trapped in the accounts of the commission because they cannot meet the counterpart funding, can do so; and
- to embark on radical reforms in visa issuance at Nigeria’s consular offices and on arrival in the country and to compel some agencies of government like the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the National Agency for Foods Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and others to improve on their turn around operation time for the benefit of business.
