Buhari signs 2018 budget into law

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2018 appropriation bill into law.

The presidency had submitted a proposal worth N8.612 trillion to the national assembly.

Six months later, the national assembly increased the budget size to N9.12 trillion.

In his budget signing speech made available on his Medium page, the president said he had hoped that the legislative process on the budget would be quick.

“When I submitted the 2018 budget proposals to the national assembly on November 7, 2017, I had hoped that the usual legislative review process would be quick, so as to move Nigeria towards a predictable January-December financial year,” Buhari said.

“I am however concerned about some of the changes national assembly has made to the budget proposals I presented. The logic behind the constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the executive is that it is the executive that knows and defines its policies and projects.

“Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me.

“Notwithstanding the delay this year, I am determined to continue to work with the national assembly towards improving the budgeting process and restoring our country to the January-December fiscal cycle.

“I note, with pleasure, that the national assembly is working on the enactment of an organic budget law, so as to improve the efficiency of the nation’s budgetary process.

“As I mentioned during the presentation of the 2018 appropriation bill, we intend to use the 2018 budget to consolidate the achievements of previous budgets and deliver on Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020.”