We Don’t Yet Know Who Will Sign 2017 Budget – Lai Mohammed

SAN FRANCISCO, May 17, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has confessed that the presidency does not presently know who would assent to the 2017 budget, but assured that “when it is transmitted to the Presidency, that decision will be taken‎”.

He also disclosed that the two ministerial nominees recently confirmed by the National Assembly – Stephen Ocheni (Kogi) and Suleiman Hassan (Gombe) – would be sworn-in in due course but failed to give a specific date when the inauguration will take place.

THEWILL recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari left the country for London on May 7 on a vacation to attend to his health.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday, the minister said the National Assembly was yet to transmit the 2017 Appropriation Bill passed into law last week to the Presidency.

He, however, said the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, was in possession of an “advanced copy” which members of the cabinet would use to check if there are discrepancies between what they sent to the National Assembly and what was returned.

“It has not yet been transmitted but at least the Minister of Budget and National Planning‎ has received an advanced copy of what was passed and that is what we need to look at and compare to what we sent. It has not been transmitted officially to the Presidency,” he said.

Mohammed stated that all the ministers would be required to look at the document against what they sent to the federal lawmakers and report back to Udoma for harmonisation.

According to him, “In respect of the budget, it was only this morning that the Minister of Budget and National Planning informed the council that the budget has been passed.

“He has not sent to us individually, copies of the passed budget. We now need to look at it against what we sent and if there is any discrepancies we will report back to the Minister of Budget and National Planning on harmonisation.

“The Ministry of Budget and National Planning‎ will make the implementation of the 2016 budget public. They have told us that about N1.2tn has been released for capital,” he added.