Osinbajo to sign budget tomorrow

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo will tomorrow sign the 2017 budget into law barring last minute change of decision, has learnt.

Daily Trust

A source familiar with the matter told our reporter that the budget signing was initially slated for today, but postponed to tomorrow due to undisclosed engagement by the acting president.

The budget, it was further gathered, would be signed at an event to be attended by all relevant stakeholders, including the leaders of the National Assembly and chairmen of committees such as appropriation, finance, legislative budget and research, among others.

The event, Daily Trust learnt, would take place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja by 3.pm.

“All grey areas have been sorted and the budget is ready for signing into law any time soon,” Timothy Golu, a member of the House of Representatives, who chairs committee on legislative budget and research told Daily Trust last night.

The National Assembly had on May 9 passed the budget estimates submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari last December.

The approved budget was transmitted to the Presidency on May 19. Since then, the Executive has been examining the documents.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara had on Friday said the budget would be signed into law early this week.

“On issue of budget, we kept our promise to Nigerians at the beginning of the legislative session to ensure transparent deliberation and passage of the 2017 Appropriations Bill, which will be signed into law early next week,” Dogara said.

The federal legislature jerked up the 2017 budget by N143 billion, from the N7.298 trillion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari to N7.441trillion.

The sum of N2.174 trillion was for contribution to the Development Fund for capital expenditure; N434.412bn for Statutory Transfers; N1.841 trillion for debt service; N177.460bn for Sinking Fund for maturing bonds, while the sum of N2.990 trillion is for recurrent (nondebt) expenditure.

Similarly, the sum of N20bn was added to the budget by the lawmakers for the second runway at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.