Posted on: 10:33 Fri, 22 Apr 2016



President Muhammadu Buhari has
returned the controversy-ridden
2016 budget to the National
Assembly, pointing out areas of
concern in the document and
demanding adjustment.

The spokesperson of the House of
Representatives, Abdurazaq
Namdas, (APC-Adamawa State)
confirmed this to journalists on
Thursday.

“I can confirm to you that we are
in possession of the letter from the
president identifying grey areas,”
Mr. Namdas said.

He said the leadership of the House
and that of the Senate as well as
their respective relevant
committees would meet on the
development.

He, however, refused to mention
the “grey areas” saying they would
be made known to Nigerians in
“due course”.

The National Assembly passed the
budget on March 2 and later
transmitted it to Mr. Buhari for
assent.

Apparently with the omission of
certain projects and addition of
others not proposed by the
Executive, Mr. Buhari has since
withheld his assent.

One of such projects is the Lagos-
Calabar rail project counted as a
critical infrastrucural focus of the
administration.

It was not captured in the original
budget but was brought as a
supplementary proposal of the
Transport Ministry by its Minister,
Rotimi Amaechi, and was
approved, Chairman Senate
Committee on Land Transport,
Gbenga Ashafa, said.

However, the Appropriations
Committees of the Senate and
House of Representatives
respectively chaired by Danjuma
Goje and Abdulmumin Jibrin,
removed the project from the final
draft, saying Mr. Amaechi lacked
the powers to make budgetary
proposal.

Last week, while the Senate said
Mr. Buhari should sign the budget
and, later, send a supplementary
proposal to capture the Lagos-
Calabar rail project, the House said
it had resolved to receive the
budget to capture the project before
assent.