NASS tells Nigerians when to expect details of 2016 budget

– The chairman of the house committee on appropriation, Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin has revealed when details of the budget would be made public

– Jibrin gave a detailed explanation on why the 2016 appropriation bill was delayed

– President Muhammadu Buhari declined to sign the budget because it was the highlights and not the details

The National Assembly has responded to the controversy in the copy of the 2016 appropriation bill submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for signing.

READ ALSO: Buhari set to reveal recovered corruption loot

Daily Post reports that the chairman of the house committee on appropriation, Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) at a press briefing on March 30, said there was nothing abnormal about the delay in the details as it was done in the past.

He, however, promised that the details of the 2016 budget would be ready in the next two weeks, assuring that both the Senate and the house committees on appropriation were working tirelessly to make it happen.

“At the moment, we are working on the details of the budget. We’ll take a week or two to work on the details. We are doing the final harmonization. We are looking at the various reports of the committees.

“We had instances where Obasanjo signed the budget without the details. Yar’Adua came and he preferred to see the details. So, if President Muhammadu Buhari prefers to see the details before assenting to the bill, I don’t think we should make a big deal out of it. It’s absolutely normal,” Jibrin said.

Jibrin, who reacted to the fact that the 2015 budget would elapse this week, revealed that the president is constitutionally empowered to authorise the spending of certain amounts of money out of the yet-to-be-assented 2016 budget.

“This is the most difficult budget we have ever dealt with. The MTEF and the budget came late. With all the challenges we had, I doubt if the executive would be throwing stones at the National Assembly. Even while we were dealing with all such realities, multiple budget details came up and we were able to manage the situation in a very friendly manner with the executive,” Jibrin said.

Nigerian Tribune in its report says President Muhammadu Buhari on March 29 refused to sign the 2016 appropriation bill into law.

Top presidency source privy to the development told state house correspondent that the president declined to append his signature to the document, because it was discovered that it was a mere highlights rather than the entire document.

READ ALSO: Budget awaits Buhari’s assent

According to the source, the National Assembly may have not completed work on the budget, but merely playing politics with the document and accused the lawmakers of sabotage.

“This development confirms speculations that the National Assembly either did not complete work on the budget or is playing politics with the documents which affects the life of both the country and its citizens. The National Assembly may just have passed the bill to pass the buck to the executive and escape the wrath of the public, which was gradually suspecting it of sabotage,” the source revealed.

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