President Muhammadu Buhari, says he signed the padded N9.12 trillion 2018 budget in the interest of Nigerians, because lawmakers added their own personal projects to the document.
“I have decided to sign the 2018 Budget in order not to further slowdown the pace of recovery of our economy, which has doubtlessly been affected by the delay in passing the budget,” President Buhari said as he signed the budget on Wednesday at Presidential Villa, Abuja.
President Buhari in November 2017, presented a budget proposal of N8.6 trillion, to a joint session of the National Assembly (NASS) but the lawmakers in their own wisdom increased the budget by an additional N500 billion.
He lamented the deliberate alteration of the budget by the lawmakers who he said went beyond their Constitutional duties by inserting projects in the budget amounting to N578 billion for 6,403 projects of their own as well as deliberately cutting down the costs of critical projects dear to the electorate and the executive by N347 billion representing 4,700 projects.
The President expressed grave concerns over the increased in the budget from N8.6 trillion to N9.12 trillion noting that lawmakers disregarded “the logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive.
“It is the Executive that knows and defines its policies and projects. Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me”. He said
He vowed, “to seek to remedy some of the most critical of these issues through a supplementary and/or amendment budget which I hope the National Assembly will be able to expeditiously consider”.
The President also pledged to work extra hard to achieve the laudable objectives of the 2018 Budget.
According to him “we will work very hard to generate the revenues required to finance our projects and programmes. The positive global oil market outlook, as well as continuing improvement in non-oil revenues, make us optimistic about our ability to finance the budget”.
“However, being a deficit budget, the Borrowing Plan will be forwarded to the National Assembly shortly. I crave the indulgence of the National Assembly for a speedy consideration and approval of the Plan,” he further stated.
President Buhari said the Federal Government “intend to use the 2018 Budget to consolidate the achievements of previous budgets and deliver on Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020”.
He lamented the delay in the passage of the budget saying “When I submitted the 2018 Budget proposals to the National Assembly on 7th November 2017, I had hoped that the usual legislative review process would be quick, so as to move Nigeria towards a predictable January-December financial year. The importance of this predictability cannot be overemphasized”.
The President said “Notwithstanding the delay this year, I am determined to continue to work with the National Assembly towards improving the budgeting process and restoring our country to the January-December fiscal cycle”.
Despite the blames, the President still went ahead to thank the President of the Senate Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara as well as all Senators and House of Representatives members for passing the 2018 Appropriation Bill, after seven months.