Osinbajo to sign budget at 3pm

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo will sign the 2017 budget at 3pm on Monday, TheCable has learnt.

Bamikole Omisore, media aide of Senate President Bukola, told TheCable that his principal and Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, would join the acting president at the presidential villa for the exercise.

The budget was due to be signed a fortnight ago, but the exercise was put off for undisclosed reasons.

Since the passage of the budget by the national assembly on May 11 controversy has trailed it.

The controversy was sparked off by Ita Enang, senior special assistant on legislative matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, who had said that his principal, who is on medical leave in the UK, would sign the budget.

However, Laolu Akande, senior special assistant on media to the acting president, later explained that Osinbajo would sign the budget when he is satisfied with its content as passed by the national assembly.

The national assembly transmitted the budget to the presidency on May 18, but no action was taken on it until Monday.

The 2017 budget is N7.44trn, and it is the biggest budget so far.