…Cautions lawmakers

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, yesterday booed the recent call for his removal by members of the National Assembly, rebuffing the view that he is a square peg in a round hole.

National Assembly had upon resumption of normal legislative business after a two-month recess, resolved to place premium on addressing the current recession buffeting the nation’s economy.

Consequently, discussions on the floor of the house, Tuesday, centred on how to pull the country out of recession with some lawmakers calling for the removal of Udoma alongside two other key officials saddled with the responsibility of economic management in President Buhari’s cabinet and their replacement by competent hands to help deliver the country out of recession.

But reacting to the call for his removal, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, enjoined the lawmakers to go back and objectively review his antecedents.

The Minister who spoke through his media aide, Mr. James Akpandem said it is important that the lawmakers be guided by fairness when making utterances about the personality of a fellow public servant.

The Minister said: “In view of the impression given by some members of the National Assembly, that Udoma, is just a lawyer and not at home with economic and planning issues, I think it would be necessary that I make get them informed a bit.

Yes, I studied law in the university but my expertise and experience cut across key sectors of the economy. I want our lawmakers to be more informed, so I enjoin them to go back and review my antecedents.

Before being appointed Minister in November 2015, I had the privilege of being part of a number of Nigeria’s economic and development policy initiatives including but not limited to:

Board Member Unilever Nigeria Plc, Director of Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) up till 2000, Chairman, Task Force on Petroleum Industry Bill, Pioneer Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission, chairman, Presidential Committee on Waivers, Incentives and Concessions, chairman of the Governing Board of the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as Chairman of Union Bank Plc, among others, he said”.

bejeiodus:
Some ministries must have experts in the field as their head. Udoma is a brilliant lawyer no doubt and has sat on the boards of many blue chip companies. But he seems to be a miscast for the role Buhari assigned to him. I think he would do better as the Minister for Trade and Investment or Foreign Affairs. His ability to perform effectively as the minister for Budget and National Planning has been put to test by the economic challenges ailing the nation. Sadly, he failed woefully.

morscino:
How many of our lawmakers are lawyers?

bigtt76:
How does being board chairman or member of a board or committee qualify you to manage a country's budget? The NASS people self are not worthy of being a good representatives of the people yet they're castigating another. Were they not the ones who asked Udoma to take a bow without questioning him? #eDiotsInGovernment

odomanis:

In fairness to the national assembly, portfolio has not been assigned to him then. And this is why people like us believe that the legislature should screen these nominees based on the portfolios assigned to them.

hUmaneOne:

My friend this is a completely different matter here.
A lawyer cannot make laws concerning health-care or engineering.

Lawmakers are drawn from every pool. engineers, doctors, businessmen.
The lawmakers then have lawyers who draft their bill and fine tune them according the the ambits of law.

This man is obviously incompetent in charge of budget

moufan:
imagine appointing a lawyer as head of Nigeria budgetary system, it's definitely a square peg in a round hole.I ponder the kind of reasoning that warranted this absurd appointment

odomanis:



In fairness to the national assembly, portfolio has not been assigned to him then. And this is why people like us believe that the legislature should screen these nominees based on the portfolios assigned to them.

morscino:

Trash!...The Nigerian constitution is the lawmaker's Bible.
As an hounourable member,an engineer can make/amend laws that has to do with health with or without the presence of an hounourable member who is a health practitioner,so far it is within the confines of the Nigerian Constitution

as far as I'm concerned, the economic policies of this govt. is on point,our chop n quench attitude over the years has not helped us,So let's save,invest n grow.Which is what dis admin is about.

hUmaneOne:


You're just deliberately silly I think. Have you ever read parts of the constitution?

Who propounded the national health bill?engineers? What do they know about how healthcare should be run?

There are some issues anybody irrespective of educational background,can propounded .but some other bills can only be drawn by professionals.
Bills concerning the banking industry is best drawn by bankers, not lawyers
Bill concerning electricity regulation is best drawn by electricity workers and not pharmacists

The lawyers are needed to fine tune the bill on paper ,to confirm with how a law should be.
Capisch??

greenpasture:


Budgeting is a process of compiling data from multiple sources and verifying the data. You don't need an economist to do this. Anyone who thinks like the house does simply hasn't had a good education. Why appoint Obama a lawyer over a complex economy like the US?

The objective of education is allowing you to have a logical thought process. Budgeting or even running a country does not require function specific skill sets. These guys have people to do function specific tasks.

Don't limit yourself.

Even if you have a degree in English you can run IBM Budgeting and by the way anyone who sits on as many corporate boards as Udoma does, can read a corporate balance sheet. A national balance sheet simply has more zeros. Process is the same.

The only reason the house is beefing him is because he was formerly in the PDP. When they passed him as fit to be a minister, were they drunk?