National Budget: Presidency and National Assembly Reach Truce

In line with the National Assembly’s resolve to meet with the executive to iron out the differences over the 2016 Appropriation Bill, Senate President Bukola Saraki has met with President Muhammadu Buhari to reach a truce on the budget.

His meeting followed a similar one held yesterday afternoon between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the president on the budget.

Emerging from his closed-door meeting, Saraki informed State House correspondents that the National Assembly and the presidency had found a way of resolving the impasse over the budget.
He said the executive arm of government and the National Assembly agreed to set up committees that would work together to harmonise areas of disagreement.

Saraki said: “We just finished a meeting with the president and the vice-president. We came to work out the solutions that we found in moving the budget process forward and we are happy to say that we have agreed on the way forward, and we believe that this process will be completed in a matter of days rather than weeks.

“So it is good for Nigerians and for all of us, we have found a way forward and in a matter of days, the budget will be ready for the president’s assent.”
When asked what the way forward was, he said: “We have committees that have been set up on our side and also on the executive’s side, we will engage over the next few days, to just tidy up a few loose ends and ensure that the outcome is satisfactory to everyone.”

On if the budget would be signed this week, Saraki said: “You heard what I just said, I said in a matter of days and not weeks; so you can start counting the days which means that between now and Monday or Tuesday, I’m hopeful that the budget will be signed.”

Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who was at the meeting, said: “We have agreed to work together to resolve all issues in the next few days and we have also agreed on the modalities of doing so, so it was a very good meeting, very positive and within the next few days all issues will be settled.
“We are working together, both the executive and the legislature, to sort those things out and within the next few days all matters will be resolved.”