Buhari signs 2018 budget, 6 months into the year

About six months into the year, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday signed the 2018 Appropriations Bill into law.

Buhari signed the budget as passed by the National Assembly at about 12:00 noon inside his office at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The total budget figure is put at N9.12 trillion, indicating an increase of 23 percent compared to 2017 budget.

The 2018 budget, the largest in the history of the country, was premised on some key revenue assumptions including Crude Oil price benchmark of $51 per barrel as against $45 per barrel proposed by the executive.

The crude oil production volume was retained at 2.3 million barrels per day, while the exchange rate was pegged at N305/USD.

President Buhari had received the 2018 Appropriation Bill from the National Assembly 10 days after passage, as the lawmakers said they needed to harmonise the budget.

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While answering question on why Buhari delayed signing the budget, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said the President was reviewing it.

In November 2017, President Buhari presented N8.612 trillion budget estimates to a joint session of the National Assembly.

According to Buhari, the budget called “Budget of Consolidation” is expected to consolidate on the achievements of previous budgets, and deliver on Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) for 2018 – 2020.

But, it took the lawmakers over six months after to pass the budget, even as they raised the estimates by N508 billion upon passage, stating that the upward review was done with “due consultation of the executive.”

A source said, while the Presidency wanted the increment in the budget to be used for funding deficit, the National Assembly insisted it must be allocated to ‘projects’ decided by them.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, is expected to give a breakdown of the national budget on Thursday.

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