PRESIDENT BUHARI SIGNS 2018 BUDGET 1. 2018 BUDGET SIGNED: President Muhammadu Buhari flanked by the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo Signs the 2018 Budget. Others are Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje, Chairman House Committee on Appropriations, Hon Mustapha Bala, SSAP on National Assembly (House) Hon Sulieman Kwau, SSAP on National Assembly (Senate) Sen Ita Enang during the Signing of the 2018 Budget at the State House in Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. JUNE 20 2018

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Buhari signs N9.1 trillion 2018 budget, queries N500 billion NASS increase

Per Second NewsJune 20, 20181 Mins read801

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2018 appropriation bill containing budget estimates as approved by the National Assembly into law. The National Assembly increased the budget to N9.1 trillion from the N8.6 trillion estimates the President submitted to the Assembly on November 7, 2017.

: President Muhammadu Buhari flanked by the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo Signs the 2018 Budget with Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje, Chairman House Committee on Appropriations, Hon Mustapha Bala, SSAP on National Assembly (House) Hon Sulieman Kwau, SSAP on National Assembly (Senate) Sen Ita Enang and Ministers during the Signing of the 2018 Budget at the State House in Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. JUNE 20 2018

Senate president Bukola Saraki, speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara were curiously absent as the president signed the bill into law.

Buhari, raised concerns about the National Assembly tinkering with the budget of major projects, announcing that he will send supplementary budget soon.Buhari regretted that the federal lawmakers made reductions amounting to N347 billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion.

Buhari posted on his verified Twitter handle, @MBuhari, “I am however concerned about some of the changes @nassnigeria has made to the budget proposals I presented.

“The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that, it is the Executive that knows & defines its policies & projects.

“Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me. The National Assembly made cuts amounting to N347 billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion.

“As it is, some of these projects relate to matters that are the responsibility of the States and Local Governments, and for which the Federal Government should therefore not be unduly burdened.”

He signed the budget at about 12 noon on Wednesday inside his office at the presidential villa Abuja.