ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Both chambers of the National Assembly will today debate a letter written to them by President Muhammadu Buhari informing their respective leaderships of his intention to withdraw the 2016 Budget and amend the inherent “errors” in the document.
The formal request followed controversy over the alleged secret tampering with the original document as presented by Buhari. Consequently, the controversy over the budget raged all through last week.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the president had presented the 2016 Appropriation Bill to a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 22, 2016, for their scrutiny and passage into law.
But the fiscal document became a subject of controversy when the lawmakers resumed from their three-week vacation on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, to begin work on the budget only to discover that the details were not available, hence allegations of missing budget and counter-allegations between the Executive and the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.
Before leaving for Abu Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for a summit at the weekend, Buhari had, in two separate letters, officially informed the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, of his intention to withdraw the document.
A reliable source, who is close to the LEADERSHIP of the House, confirmed to LEADERSHIP last night that the Speaker’s office was in possession of Buhari’s letter to seeking to withdraw the budget but he would not disclose the specifics in the presidential communication.
“As a custom, whenever the President writes the House through the Speaker, nobody will discuss the content except on the floor of the House. So, you wait till Tuesday to know the details,” the source said.
Sources had insisted that the latest development was informed by President Buhari’s discovery after presenting the budget to the National Assembly that some of the figures earmarked for operations in the Presidency and the State House were being publicly criticized as outrageous and higher than those of past administrations.
Also, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang confirmed yesterday that the President had sent a communication to the Senate regarding the 2016 budget.
Enang, in a text message he sent to journalists last night, did not disclose the details of the communication, but stated that the communication would be read on the floor of the Senate tomorrow (Tuesday).
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, had last week alerted the presidency of a circulating fake version of the 2016 budget, pointing fingers at Senator Enang.
Credit: Leadership (Nigeria)
