Buhari To Present 2019 Budget Next Wednesday

Buhari To Present 2019 Budget Next Wednesday

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present the 2019 budget proposal before the Senate and House of Representatives next Wednesday under tight security in order to wade off aggrieved staff of National Assembly who had threatened to stall the exercise.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, read the president’s letter at plenary Thursday.

In his letter addressed to Speaker Dogara, President Buhari said:

“May I crave the kind indulgence of the House of Representatives to grant me the slot of 11 hours Wednesday, December 19, 2018 to formerly present the 2019 Appropriation Bill to the Joint Session of the National Assembly.”

Some members of the House of Representatives however lashed out at the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, for pointing accusing fingers at the parliament for the delay in the presentation of the budget after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

The letter was read less than 24hrs after the Minister of Budget and National Planning, had said the president was yet to get a date from the National Assembly for the presentation of the appropriation bill.

Udoma, who made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja, explained that sequel to the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval at a special session last Friday, the president was ready to present the fiscal document to a joint session of the parliament.