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AT last, the National Assembly, yesterday,
transmitted the detailed Budget 2016 to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
Buhari Buhari Indications that the budget would be sent, yesterday, emerged
when Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmunin Jibrin (APC, Kano),
was sighted by journalists at NASS lobby carrying the 1,800-page document at
about 4.30pm.
He was confronted by journalists and he begged that he be allowed
to deliver the document first to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Salisu
Maikasuwa, for onward transmission to the President.
At precisely 4.57pm,
Jibrin stepped out of Maikusuwa’s office and addressed the press.
He said the
2016 budget remained one of the most challenging budgets they (lawmakers) ever
experienced. He explained that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on
NASS Affairs had been duly informed and was expected to deliver it as soon as
possible.
He said: “While we thank Nigerians for their patience and
understanding, it is important to reiterate that it took us extra weeks to get
the details ready not because there was anything untoward going on but rather
so we could correct all the inconsistencies, errors, omissions and padding in
the document submitted to us in December last year.
“Being the most important
economic policy tool of government, the budget provides a comprehensive
statement of our priorities as a nation.
And as representatives of the people,
the National Assembly remains the appropriate place to ensure that the details
of such a document best match our national goals and aspirations”.
“Therefore,
what we have been doing in these past few weeks is to balance the projections
for revenue against the estimates for expenditure, based on the reality of our
situation today.
“Unfortunately, that task has been made very difficult by the
sloppy manner the 2016 Appropriation Bill was prepared by the executive, such
that many of the officials who came before our various committees practically
disowned the inputs from their own departments and ministries.”
We’ve right to
pad—Abonta
In his reaction to the transmission of the budget to the Presidency,
Chairman House Committee on Public Petitions, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (PDP, Abia)
said the transmission was a welcome development but noted that people should
stop saying lawmakers padded the budget.
“We’ve right to pad or depad because
we have legal padding and illegal padding, what we do is legal padding which is
the right to appropriate.
“So, when people say we are padding the budget, they
are simply asking us not to do our job.”
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