THE 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, made general election a quadrennial event similar to that of the United States of America, and specifically pegs inauguration of governments on May 29 every four years too. Incidentally, it prearranged appropriation bill or budget after the civil year calendar; reckoned from January 1 to December 31 according to Gregoriancalendar. By this conflicting arrangement, the federal and state governments present budgets to their respective legislative bodies at the end of every year for passage.
By synchronizing the civil year pattern rather than the nation’s or respective democratic calendar, most incoming administrations may continuously encounter crisis in the first year in office with usual laments of empty-treasury against outgoing administrations as witnessed over times on account of continuum in government.
This notion imperatively accounts for the strict reliance on independent financial-year calendar by financial and other corporate bodies for operations distinctive from civil year merely observed for record purposes.
Emphatically, any government that is scheduled to round off its tenure in May 29 has no business with appropriation bill for the residual periods of the year. A well-structured government should logically, correspondingly run its calendar alongside year’s budget from inauguration date and not necessarily adopting a civil calendar except if fittingly inaugurated in January.
Apparently, this is a mismatch which over the years has frustrated new governments from starting strong after inauguration. The endless wailings by newly-inaugurated governments over empty-treasuries and consequently, patching up till the passage of another year’s budget, patriotically calls for sober reflection.
At the moment, the only government expediently albeit uncalculatingly designed to possibly escape the constitutional abnormally is the government of Anambra state on account that by its present democratic template, perhaps providentially, a new administration or democratic calendar begins in February. Thus, a new governor controls the budget from day one unlike many others alongside the federal government where outgoing incumbents get a full year appropriation bill despite few months left to sign out. Then, where the incumbent too ran but lost out, the rest will be history.
Possibly, this accounted for President Muhammadu Buhari’s dirge on assumption of office over empty-treasury and couldn’t appoint ministers till end of that year. Ditto on some state governors; the arrangement unknowingly, buoy upre-contesting and outgoing governments operate profligately, diverting and writing-off allocations earmarked for new administration’s capital votesmunificently than Father Christmas.
The remedy is simple. Appropriation bill should synchronically run as financial year based on respective inauguration dates as a substitute to civil year calendar. With the variation, no elected leader could trespass to allocation earmarked for incoming administration, be it at state or federal level. As long as May 29 remains the nation’s democratic calendar whilst appropriation bill runs in a civil year, it will continuously lead to catastrophe.
By Carl Umegboro
Lagos.
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