From Onwuka Nzeshi in Abuja, 11.30.2010
A fresh commotion erupted on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday following allegations that the passage of the 2010 Budget of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) was secretly done.

This came on the heels of the purported adoption by the House last Thursday of the Conference Report on the N69.3 billion budget of the regulatory agency. The said budget included the controversial N6.1 billion proposed to be expended on the registration of SIM cards of mobile phone subscribers in the country.

Trouble started when the Chairman, House Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Hon. Rabe Nasir (PDP Katsina), raised a point of order and proposed a motion bordering on a matter of privilege.

Nasir expressed surprise and disappointment that the harmonised version of the budget was adopted along with the N6.1 billion in spite of the controversies trailing that particular item of the budget.

At the last deliberation on the NCC budget, Nasir recalled, the House set up an ad hoc committee headed by Hon. Ehiogie West Idahosa to examine the complaints of members on the budget and advise the House on the next line of action.
Nasir alleged that the Conference Report on the budget was smuggled back into the House and adopted without the input of the ad hoc committee which he is a member.

According to him, this action was an infringement of his rights and privileges as a member of the House.
However, the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Ita Enang, explained that the House adopted the budget following a report from the ad hoc committee mandating the House to do so.

Sensing that he had been rigged out of the game, Nasir renewed his protest and urged the House to revisit the manner in which such a contentious matter was passed.

Speaker of the House, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, who presided at the session, said legislators should always endeavour to be present in plenary to contribute to debates on critical issues rather than crying over spilt milk.

Although, Nasir’s motion attracted a lot of support from other lawmakers, Bankole ruled him out of order on the premise that the decision of the House on the matter could not be reversed as long as it was adopted in plenary.

This did not go down well with a cross section of the lawmakers who had over the past four months kicked against the inclusion of the N6.1 billion in the NCC budget.

But as if the quashing of Nasir’s motion was not enough, Bankole who was already in a furious mood over the lingering controversy, hurriedly vacated his seat for his Deputy, Hon. Usman Bayero Nafada, and began to make his way out of the chamber in hurried steps.

This action immediately ignited a negative reaction as a number of lawmakers also attempted to stage a walkout in protest.