Buhari, signing the budget

President Muhammadu Buhari, today, finally signed the 2016 budget. Before now, the document had almost become a yoyo, travelling between Aso villa and the National Assembly over many controversies.

The exercise was witnessed by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo,
Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker,House Of Reps, Yakubu Dogara, Chairmanof the APC, Chief John Oyegun, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Minister ofBudget ,Udo Udoma and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation,Danjuma Goje and his counterpart in the
House Of Reps, Abdulmumuni Jibrin.

This has put an end to crisis over the budget which Buhari presented to the National Assembly last December.

After it was presented came the allegation that it was stolen or missing; then the presidency found that the provisions had been padded, with ministers after ministers coming to the National Assembly to disown the content and President Buhari himself expressing a great embarrassment and vowing to punish civil servants responsible for the padding of the document, the first by his administration since 29 May last year.

After the National Assembly sent the budget for signing in March, the Presidency against raised fresh issues of distortions and padding by the National Assembly.

The document was sent back for reworking by the Assembly along with a joint committee of both the executive and the legislature.

The cleaned copy was sent to President Buhari on Monday for his signature.