NASS Set to Pass 2017 Budget Next Week

Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, yesterday an­nounced that the long delayed N7.3 trillion Ap­propriation Bill 2017 will be passed by the National Assembly and ready for President Muhammad Buhari’s assent next week.
He spoke to State House correspondents after he emerged from a closed-door meeting with the President at the Aso Rock Villa.

He said the lawmakers would act fast on the bud­get despite recent hiccups, including the reported sei­zure of the budget docu­ments by the police in last week’s raid on the resi­dence of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Danjuma Goje.
According to Lawan, “there is nothing to worry about. The National As­sembly had intended to pass the budget in March but because of some of the parameters that we had little or no control over we couldn’t pass it in March.
“It was our desire and design to pass it within this month April but somehow something happened and all of you here know what happened.
“One of our colleagues, the chairman Senate Committee on Appropria­tions senator Danjuma Goje was raided by the police after a whistleblower gave information and those documents were taken it was reported that part of the budget papers were also included.
“Also, other things that happened; essentially the trauma that the chairman had to go through affected the process of budgeting that we had been trying to do.
“When we went on Eas­ter break our members on Senate Committee on Appropriations, including that of the House of Rep­resentatives, did not go on recess.
“They stayed back be­cause that was the ar­rangement by the time we returned on Tuesday that they should lay down the report on the budget.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible because of what happened but the good news is that we are doing everything possible to ensure that we catch up the lost time.
“I am thinking that by next week, by the grace of God, we should be able to finish our own work and pass the budget to Mr Pres­ident to sign.”
The Senate Leader also disclosed that the screening of two ministerial nomi­nees submitted by the pres­ident would commence next week.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has said that the invasion of the residence of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ap­propriation, Sen Danjuma Goje, by the Police would not affect, but only delay the passage of the 2017 Budget.
Although the Police had said that budget was not among the documents removed from the sena­tor’s house, the lawmakers, however, insisted that they will not go back on their resolution that the Police should produce the budget documents.
Briefing journalists shortly after plenary, the House Committee Chair­man on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Abdurazak Namdas, disclosed that it will take time for the National Assembly to re­produce the budget docu­ments.