Osinbajo signs N7.44 trillion 2017 budget into law

 

 


ACTING President Yemi Osinbajo has signed the 2017 appropriation bill into law.
He signed the budget inside his conference room in Abuja in the presence of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari; Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Ministers and other top government officials.
The total budget figure signed is put at N 7.44 trillion.
He said his signing of the budget was a milestone in the implementation of the economic and growth plan programme put in place by Mr. Buhari in April.
Osinbajo said the processes of putting the budget in place had been smoother than that of 2016 with no allegations of errors.
“There were far few cases of acrimony unlike in the past. There is no doubt at all that our democracy is maturing very well,” he said.
He said the move was important because it would align the government’s financial year with that of most private sector companies and strengthen the relationship between government and the private sector.
He added, “On the understanding that we will be submitting the 2018 Budget to the National Assembly by October 2017, the leadership of the National Assembly has committed to working towards the passage of the 2018 Budget into law before the end of 2017.”
He added that the budgetary allocations would be reinstated by way of an application for virement by the Executive.
“It is as a result of that understanding and the outcome of our detailed engagements that we feel able to sign the 2017 Appropriations Bill into law today,” he said.
The Acting President, who thanked the leadership and members of the National Assembly for their “collaborative spirit”, assured Nigerians that the budget “is designed to bring the Nigerian economy out of recession onto a path of sustainable and inclusive growth”.
However, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu said President Buhari backs acting President to sign 2017 budget bill into law.
Garba said, following the receipt of a full brief on the 2017 Appropriation Bill as passed by the National Assembly, and to buttress the unity at the highest level of government, President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated that it is in the interest of the nation’s economy for the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to sign the Appropriation Bill into law.
“In a letter dated June 10, 2017, which he personally signed and addressed to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, the President also said he was “pleased by the joint resolution that the Executive would submit next year’s budget proposals by October 2017 and the National Assembly will conclude the Appropriation process by December 2017, so that the country can return to a normal fiscal period from next year onwards”, Garba said.