Acting President Osinbajo Signs 2017 Budget

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday signed the 2017 budget of #7.44 trillion, one month after the National Assembly passed the bill.

This followed a directive by President Muhammadu Buhari that Osinbajo should, without any further delay, sign the budget in the interest of the nation’s economy.

Senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, noted in a statement he issued earlier yesterday that the president’s directive was contained in a letter he (Buhari) wrote to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.

Shehu stated: “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”.

After signing the budget at the presidential villa, Abuja, Osinbajo pointed out that his assent on the bill was an important milestone in the country’s  Economic Recovery and Growth Plan laid in April by President  Buhari.

He thanked the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as the entire leadership and members of the National Assembly for completing work on the 2017 appropriation bill.

He observed that the process of preparing and processing the bill was much smoother than the 2016 appropriations bill, adding that on the executive side, there were no allegations of errors or mistakes and that there was a significant improvement in the quality of the preparation, as well as the presentation.

He commended the Ministry of Budget and National Planning for such a remarkable improvement over a single budget cycle.