Following the passage of the 2016 Appropriation Bill by the National Assembly last week, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered all the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to thoroughly review the budget before it is sent to him for assent.

A source in the presidency said yesterday that Buhari gave the directive just before the Easter break in order to ascertain if any significant amendments were made by the legislature that are inconsistent with the spending plan of the executive arm of government.

He said: “We hope to get the budget this week from the legislature immediately after the Easter holiday. But before the president assents to it, he has directed that it should be sent to all the MDAs to double check it to ensure that there were no significant amendments or errors that could adversely affect the implementation of the budget.

“It is only when this is done and the president is satisfied that there were no material alterations that are not consistent with the objectives of this administration, then he would assent to it.”

The presidency official said that the process of reviewing the budget should not take more than a week or two, following which Buhari would assent to the bill.

“However, if there are significant alterations, it may have to be sent back to the National Assembly until a compromise is reached on what should be passed in the budget,” he explained.

Credit: Thisday