Why I declined assent to $1bn Ajaokuta Steel coy fund, NHF, FMBN bills – Buhari

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday gave reasons why he refused to give nod to parliamentary Bill requesting appropriation of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account for the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State.

The President premised his refusal to assent the Ajaokuta Steel Company Completion Bill 2018 on budgetary constraints.

In a letter read on the floor of the Senate Tuesday by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, the President said taking the money from the excess crude account “is not the best strategic option for Nigeria at this time of budgetary constraints”.

President Buhari stated that “the nation cannot afford to commit such an amount in the midst of competing priorities with long term social and economic impact that the funds can be alternatively deployed towards”.

Rather than appropriating the huge amount of money in one fell swoop from the treasury, the president called for a split funding through annual budgetary proposals.

He said: “Bills which seek to make Appropriation of revenues to public fund expenditure should be consolidated in the annual Appropriation Act such that these proposals pass through the traditional scrutiny that budget proposals are subjected to by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the National Assembly.

“Furthermore, as the Excess Crude Account funds belong to the Federation so it would be proper to consult with the National Economic Council and the States”.

President Buhari also faulted the bill on the ground that relevant stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment were not fully consulted.

“The inputs of key stakeholders are necessary to create the optimal legal and regulatory framework as well as institutional mechanism to adequately regulate the steel sector”, he canvassed.

Also, the President refused to sign the National Housing Fund Bill 2018 on the ground that the various levies and obligations imposed by sections 4,5 and 6 of the Bill, will be disruptive and punitive to a number of industries and sectors of the Nigerian economy including cement manufacturing, banking insurance, pensions and may also impact adversely the average Nigerian workers.

Specifically, the President faulted the 25% of the ex-factory price before transportation cost of each manufactured or imported 50kg bag of cement or equivalent in bulk, 2.5% monthly deduction from workers’ salaries, the compulsory investment requirement imposed on commercial banks, merchant banks, insurance companies and pension fund administration of a minimum of 10% of their profit before tax into the National Housing Fund.

President Buhari flagged down the signing of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Bill 2018 because it “failed to spell out in detail the required qualifications and experience threshold of the directors and senior management staff with specific reference to developmental banking, risk management and mortgage loan administration experience.

He reasoned that ” the provision of Section 9(2) providing that the liabilities of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria shall be re-discountable with the Central Bank of Nigeria without specifically stating in the Bill that this is subject to the usual criteria for normally accessing the re-discounting window of the Central Bank of Nigeria “.

The President as well pointed out conflicts between Section 14 on General Reserves, Section 15 on the Funds of Mortgage Bank and section 21 on Annual Repirts, generally accepted Development Finance Institutions Guidelines and International Financial Report Standards.