Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The 2017 budget recently passed by the National Assembly would be signed by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, June 1, 2017, the Vanguard is reporting.
The reputable news platform said a source told its correspondent in Abuja that the signing ceremony will take place by 9am at the Presidential Villa.
Expected to witness the ceremony are the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubi Dogara; and other top government officials.
Mr Osinbajo will sign the 2017 appropriation bill in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is presently in London for medical vacation.
In December 2016, Mr Buhari presented the N7.30 trillion budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, which was eventually passed on May 18, 2017, but not after increasing it to N7.44 trillion.
This year’s budget seems to be devoid of padding as experienced last year, which caused a huge embarrassment to the green chamber of the National Assembly and subsequently led to the suspension of the whistle blower, Mr Abdulmumin Jibrin, who chaired the House Committee on Appropriation that worked on the controversial 2016 budget.
