Posted on: 01:04 Sun, 17 Apr 2016



After spending a week in China to
seal economic deals that could see
Nigeria draw down $6 billion
investments, President
Muhammadu Buhari returned to
Abuja yesterday to finish work on
this year’s budget, which has been
dogged by controversy.

But there was apprehension, last
night, that Buhari, who feels highly
embarrassed by the alleged
distortion of the budget by some
members of the National Assembly,
might press for sanctions against
those found culpable.

However, a source close to the
Presidency said nobody could read
the mind of the President on what
he intended to do in relation to the
crisis associated with the fiscal
document.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the
apprehension of some powerful
federal lawmakers, who allegedly
sabotaged the budget for pecuniary
reasons, had been identified in
both chambers of the National
Assembly.

The identification of the roles
played by each of the lawmakers,
according to competent sources,
followed the week-long scrutiny of
the document transmitted to the
Presidency by the NASS.

Presidency sources confirmed to
Sunday Vanguard that the major
areas of distortion carried out by
the NASS had been compiled,
saying Buhari would likely address
Nigerians on the matter.

It was also learnt that the Speaker
of the House of Representatives,
Yakubu Dogara, who held a closed-
door meeting with members on the
budget, got to know how bad the
budget had been ‘treated’ and
offered to undertake a review to
avoid further altercation with the
Presidency on the matter.

Dogara’s disposition, it was learnt,
followed a meeting he had with a
Minister who gave him a
breakdown of the distortion done
to the budget by members of the
Appropriation Committees of the
NASS.

It was gathered that the Speaker
had undertaken to do whatever was
needed to ensure the review of the
budget to ensure its success when
assented to by Buhari and give
succor to Nigerians.

It was also learnt that, despite the
tough stance of the Senate on the
budget impasse, some leading
members who had been briefed on
how far the budget was “padded”,
had opted to soften their stance
and review the document in the
national interest.

“All that the President wants is to
give Nigerians a budget that will
reflate the economy and something
to cheer about,” a Minister told
Sunday Vanguard.