Emerging reports indicate that the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has perfected plans to sign the 2017 budget into law on Thursday by 10:00 AM at the presidential Villa, barring any unforeseen circumstance.
A source in the Presidency who does not want his name mentioned, hinted that in accordance with existing tradition, the Acting President through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters, Sen.
Ita Enang had already invited the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara to the Villa, tomorrow by 9:00 AM to witness the ceremony.
The harmonized 2017 Appropriation Bill was on May 18, 2017 passed by the National Assembly, before its transmission to the Presidency. At the Presidency, issues surrounding the eligibility of the Acting President to assent to the budget elicited mixed reactions until the Acting President declared that he was going to sign the budget after being satisfied with the oversight function carried out by the National Assembly.
Sadly, prominent lawyers including the Human right activist, Femi Falana (SAN) had urged the acting president not to sign the budget into law, explaining that the National Assembly lacked the powers to increase the budget from N7.30Trn to N7.40Trn, a development that has raised fresh legal issues about the constitutionality of the National Assembly to inflate or deflate the budget.
