Daily Trust gathered yesterday that the members of the lower chamber rejected an offer made to them by the presidency to jerk up their quarterly running cost with N2.5 million each, while the Senators were offered a N4 million if they agree to approve an oil bench mark of $74 per barrel.
President Goodluck Jonathan had in September proposed an oil bench mark of $74 per barrel when he submitted the Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the two chambers of the National Assembly.
However, the Senate adopted $76.5 as its bench mark while the House of Representatives pegged it at $79 per barrel.
Their inability to reach a common ground has been cited by President Jonathan as the cause of the delay of the 2014 budget proposal.
The two chambers had set up a six-man conference committee each to find a common ground.
The committee under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi (PDP, Kaduna), held three meetings in one week but all ended in a stalemate.
Senate spokesman Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia), who confirmed this to journalists in Abuja yesterday said: “The meeting ended in stalemate. No agreement because despite the Senate shifting to $77 per barrel, House members remained adamant at $79 and the meeting adjourned” indefinitely.
With this development, there is every likelihood that for the first time since the return to democratic rule in 1999, the two chambers will hold a joint session to vote on the oil bench mark price based on provisions of the 1999 constitution.
“We have decided to reject the offer, how much will N2.5 million add to me in the next one and half year that is remaining? That is why we rejected it and insisted that the bench mark must stand at $79 per barrel as approved by the House and we are ready to hold joint session to vote on it,” a member of the conference committee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.
