By Dipo Olowookere
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, President Muhammadu Buhari will assent to the 2018 Appropriation Bill next week.
In November 2017, the President submitted a budget of N8.6 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly for the 2018 fiscal year.
However, when the appropriation bill was finally passed in May 2018, it had been raised by the parliament to N9.1 trillion.
Last week, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udo Udoma, had disclosed that President Buhari was taking his time to review the budget transmitted to him by the National Assembly before signing it into law.
Yesterday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) met and Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, after the meeting, briefed State House Correspondents on the outcome of Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by the President.
Speaking on when the President plans to sign the budget, Mr Adesina said it will definitely be next week. However, he did not say specifically when next week this would be done by Mr Buhari.
“I can assure you that the bill will be signed next week, but l do not know the exact day. You will be informed of the day it would be signed,” the President’s mouthpiece told newsmen yesterday.
Recall that on Tuesday, Business Post reported that President Buhari has till June 30, 2018 to sign the 2018 Appropriation Bill into law to prevent a complete government shutdown.
Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives on Appropriation, Mr Emeka Azubogu, had said the recurrent expenditure part of the 2017 budget would expire on June 30, 2018, pointing out that the capital expenditure part of last year’s budget had expired in December 2017.
Adedapo Adesanya