By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, has been directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, to assent to the 2017 appropriation bill transmitted to the executive by the National Assembly, after it was passed some days ago.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, disclosed in a statement on Monday that Mr Buhari, who is presently undergoing medical vacation in the United Kingdom, has asked his Vice to carry out the signing of the 2017 budget without delay.
“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,” Mr Shehu said in the statement this afternoon.
The President’s spokesman said, “In a letter dated June 10, 2017, which he personally signed and addressed to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr 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.”
Adedapo Adesanya