Presidency yet to notify Reps of state of emergency – Ogene

The House of Representatives said on Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan had not officially communicated to it the declaration of state of emergency in three states.
The affected states are Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
Representative Victor Ogene (APGA-Anambra), the Deputy Chairman, House committee on Media and Public Affairs, said this at a news conference in Abuja.
He said that it would be “hasty” for anyone to say that Jonathan was in breach of the constitution for not communicating to the National Assembly the decision of the executive arm of government on the state of emergency.
Ogene added that the House was also concerned, like other Nigerians, about the security situation in the country.
He stressed the need for collaboration between the three arms of government to achieve a common goal.
“As bastion of democracy, the National Assembly is desirous of sustaining and maintaining all democratic structures in the country,” he said.
Ogene said the retention of democratic structures in the affected states, in spite the state of emergency, was the outcome of discussion between the executive and the leadership of the assembly.
Meanwhile, the House has approved N259.6 billion budget for the Federal Capital Territory for the 2013 fiscal year, with N160.4 billion earmarked for capital projects, N48.6 billion for personnel costs and N50.5 billion for overhead costs.