ABUJA — FROM all indications, a crisis is fast brewing between the National Assembly and The Presidency over alleged directive from the latter to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to stop honouring invitations from committees of the National Assembly without express permission of the President.
The crisis came to the fore based on the response of the Ministry of Interior to a memo from the House of Representatives Committee on Public Account, PAC.
However Sections 85, 86 and 87 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) empowers the Auditor General of the Federation to look into the accounts of all MDAs and submit its findings to the Parliament for consideration by Public Account Committees of both chambers of the National Assembly.
The House of Representatives PAC, led by Solomon Adeola-Olamilekan, had invited the Interior Ministry to make an appearance before it and answer to questions raised by the office of Auditor General of the Federal ,AGoF, on the monies released to the ministry by the Budget Office from the Service Wide Vote between 2004 and 2012.
The ministry, in a response signed by its Permanent Secretary, Mrs Fatima Bamidele, said it would not heed the call by the committee until clearance or approval was given by the Presidency.
The power of the PAC committees to consider the reports submitted by the Auditor General without any interference was drawn from Section 85(5) of the constitution.
The reply by the Interior Ministry to the memo from the PAC signed by the Permanent Secretary, obtained by Vanguard read in part: Re;Releases To MDAs and Expenditure made through the Service Wide Votes during the period 2004-2012 – Final Warning.
”I acknowledge the receipt of your letter No; HR/SC05/II/XXXI/98 of April 30, 2014, on the above subject-matter and write to inform you that the Ministry has written to the President through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to seek for clearance/approval to attend the meeting. As soon as the clearance is granted, the Ministry will appear before the committee.”
Source: Vanguard
