2016 budget: N’Assembly fails to keep promise

National Assembly Complex, Abuja

The National Assembly failed to keep its promise to lay the report on the N6.07tn budget for 2016 in its chambers today.
Contrary to expectations, neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives received any report on the budget from their Committee on Appropriation.
The budget was not listed on the Order Paper for the day’s business.
On March 2, the Senate/House Joint Committee on Appropriation had given their word that the report would be laid on March 16, while it would be considered and passed on March 17 (tomorrrow).
Senator Danjuma Goje, who chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriation, and his counterpart from the House, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, had given their word at a joint news conference held at the National Assembly.
Jibrin specifically said, “We will lay our report on the floor on the 16th of March. The report will be considered the next day, hopefully.
“So, it is safe for us to say that the budget will be passed on March 17.”
They failed to keep their word.
Findings showed that the committee had yet to tidy up a few details in the document.
However, the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, today assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would transmit the 2016 Appropriation Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent before Easter.
Ndume, who stated this in an interview with journalists, explained that the report of the appropriation committee of the Senate would be laid by Goje tomorrow.

He said the report would be deliberated upon at plenary on Tuesday next week and passed, while the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikashuwa, would transmit the document to Buhari.