The Presidency on Friday confirmed that the National Assembly has formally transmitted the 2017 Appropriation Bill recently passed into law to the Executive arm of government.
The Special Adviser to the President On National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang, stated this as he debunked earlier reports of him saying that President Muhammadu Buhari is the one to sign the bill into law.
“The Acting President will assent to this bill when the processes are concluded. As acting president, he has all the powers of the president,” he told State House correspondents on Friday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, also confirmed the receipt of the document via his Twitter handle.
Tweeting @Akandeoj, he said the budget was formally received in the office of the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, adding that the bill is currently undergoing diligent consideration by the Executive arm of government.
“2017 Budget – Appropriations bill now officially received in the Acting President’s office and undergoing very prompt and diligent consideration,” Akande wrote.
It was recalled that the National Assembly had last Thursday passed the appropriation bill, five months after Buhari presented it before the federal lawmakers.
The National Assembly, however, increased the budget size to N7.44tn, from the N7.29tn proposed by the President.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed disclosed that upon receipt of the document, copies would be made available to ministers to compare what their ministries sent to the National Assembly and what was returned.
He had told the reporters that a decision on who would sign the document between Osinbajo and Buhari who is currently in London, the United Kingdom for medical consultation would be taken at the appropriate time.
But Akande quickly clarified that Osinbajo will sign the document once he is satisfied with what was returned to the Executive from the National Assembly.
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