The presidency has disclosed that President Muhammadu
Buhari was prepared to present to Nigerians, a budget of
change, when the presentation of the 2016 Appropriation
Bill to the National Assembly is being carried out on
Tuesday, December 22, Vanguard reports.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday, December 18, in Abuja,
Senator Ita Enang, the senior special assistant to the
president on National Assembly matters, said that that the
2016 budget would be different from the previous budgets,
where the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)
was presented to the National Assembly while the budget
was being considered.
Buhari Vows To Present “Budget Of Change” To Nigerians
Naij.com recalls that the Senate had passed the MTEF on
Wednesday, December 16, and according to Enang, the
MTEF would act as a guide to developing implementable
budget.
Enang said: “I appreciate the National Assembly on the
expeditious passage of the MTEF and the Fiscal Strategy
Paper because it was the basis for the preparation of the
2016 budget.
“Most of you have been here for a while and you agree
with me that one or two years past we used to have a
situation where the MTEF is considered and perhaps being
considered while the budget is being presented but the
present leadership of the Senate considered it appropriate
to pass the MTEF and FSP before the budget is presented.
“You will agree with me that the Fiscal Responsibility Act
says that it is the parameter set in the MTEF such as the
oil benchmark, exchange rate, production quota, the non-
oil revenue, sources of funding the budget, sources of
other fiscal items; those are the items that determine what
the executive will use to prepare the budget, and it is after
these were considered and passed that His Excellency Mr
President communicated the date, that the budget will be
presented on Tuesday next week.
“A lot of people may have expected that this will be
difficult to do, that is the way the legislators have
responded to matters affecting Nigerians and Nigeria and
communications and requests from Mr President; on this
note that President has been very and highly appreciated.
“I am here again to extend my appreciation to His
Excellency the President of the Senate, the Speaker,
leadership and membership of the Senate and House of
Representatives and indeed the management.”
President Buhari is expected to present the 2016 budget to
a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday,
December 21.
When asked on Thursday whether the President will submit
the budget personally to the National Assembly or send it
through a minister as was done in the recent past, Senator
Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning,
said the details would be made public later.
Meanwhile, the presidency on Friday, December 4, said
that President Muhammadu Buhari has not breached any
law by not submitting Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF) to National Assembly for consideration.
The MTEF document according to law was supposed to
have been submitted for approval by August 2015 four
months to the end of the financial year requirement
stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.