Buhari returns 2016 budget, holds meeting with Saraki, Dogara

Following the dissent between the executive and the National Assembly over the 2016 Budget, President Muhammadu Buhari has returned the Appropriation Bill to NASS even as he has met with its leadership today again.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, confirmed it and told pressmen after the House rose from its plenary on Thursday that the meeting would take place “this week.”

 The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers of the National Assembly attended the meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa today.

Named as said: “Recall that we in the House, mandated our speaker to meet with Mr. President on the grey areas in the budget.

“The speaker reported back to us and the Presidency wrote us, identifying the grey areas to be worked on in the budget.

“Following this, the leaders of both chambers also met and agreed after discussions, to meet with Mr. President, hopefully, this week to conclude the deliberations.”

According to reports, a legislative official with Namdas said: “The meeting will be held on Friday; the point is that efforts are on by the executive and the National Assembly to resolve the budget dispute once and for all.

“Mr. President is expected to be at the meeting with his economic team so that all sides will be on the same page.”

“One is for Mr. President to present a supplementary budget. This will be in line with the position earlier taken by the Senate. The first, second and third readings of the bill can be done in both chambers in one day.

“The other option is for Mr. President to sign the budget already passed and the executive can go ahead to implement the areas that can be implemented immediately.

“We have to meet with Mr. President, lay all these issues out for discussion so that everyone will be on the same page.”

Source: Punch