“Any person who contravenes the provisions of this Act shall on conviction be liable to a minimum of five years imprisonment or a minimum fine of N1m and shall also be removed from office.
“Unless otherwise authorised by an Appropriation Act or a resolution of the National Assembly, it shall be an offence under this Act for a person to spend or authorise the spending of public money or fund not appropriated in the Appropriation Act.”
Those were some of the provisions of a bill seeking to jail ministers and heads of government departments for spending outside statutory budget which is under way in the House of Representatives. The new bill is sponsored by Hon. Albert Sam-Tsokwa, and 24 others.
A section of the bill also prohibits the “spending of public money or fund on any project or purpose in a manner which contravenes any Act of the National Assembly or applicable financial regulation.”
If passed into law, the Act would also strengthen the National Assembly to prepare budget of the Central Bank Nigeria, CBN, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA and Nigerian Customs Service, NCS.
You may which to know that CBN, NPA and some other agencies generate funds and spend as much as they like without resorting to the National Assembly as prescribed in Section 80 of the 1999 Constitution.
