Osinbajo signs 2017 budget

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday, signed the 2017 Appropriation Bill into law.

The signing is coming weeks after it was approved by the National Assembly.

There were insinuations that the passage was delayed to enable President Muhammadu Buhari return to the country to carry out the exercise.

Information were also rife that the president would arrive the country on Sunday, with the chances of him signing the bill.

However, on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, issued a statement that Buhari had given Osinbajo the go ahead to sign the bill into law.

He said the directive was given following the receipt of a full brief on the 2017 budget as passed by the National Assembly.

According to Garba Shehu, the president said it was in the interest of the nation’s economy for Osinbajo to sign the budget.

The statement reads:  “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.”

Present at the signing of the budget were, Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma and the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.

Others were the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.