Buhari to sign 2023 budget on Tuesday – Senate Speaker
Barring any last-minute changes, President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the 2023 Finance Bill on Tuesday.
Senate President Ahmed Lawan confirmed this to State House correspondents on Friday after a closed-door meeting with Mr Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Mr. Lawan revealed that he had discussed some national issues with Mr Buhari, including the president's recent request for an additional loan, the legislature's support for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the general elections and the bill. budget of 2023.
He said, "We look forward to Mr. President signing the Finance Bill 2023, by the grace of God, on Tuesday.
"This is because we signed the document yesterday (Thursday), having wasted time due to some anomalous numbers we had in the National Assembly Bill (NASS).
"But thank goodness NASS in both houses passed Appropriation Bill 2023 on Wednesday, and I'm sure Mr. President and his team on the executive side will be working on what we we did.
"And first thing on Tuesday, the first official working day of the year, I believe Mr. President will sign the 2023 budget bill."
He lamented that the NASS would have passed the bill a week earlier had it not been for the irregularities spotted in the bill.
"We are very happy to have been able, over the past four years, to ensure the vote on finance bills in record time before each Christmas, and Mr. President had always signed before the end of the year.
"This year, in particular, it is because of the abnormal, very undesirable and unfortunate situation that we had to delay a little.
"You will recall that NASS had to cut short its Christmas vacation and return on Wednesday for the sole purpose of passing the appropriations bill that we could have passed a week earlier. So, all the same, we don't 'we missed nothing,' he said.
According to him, the harmonious working relationship between the executive and the legislature has made it possible to regularize the signing of finance bills since 2018, resulting in a budget "predictable from January to December" for our country.
On the 2023 general election, Mr. Lawan pledged that NASS would continue to assist and support INEC to enable it to organize credible elections.
"We also discussed the 2023 general election. The current NASS has always supported the executive in ensuring that INEC gets whatever is needed to make it work to ensure that the elections are supported, that the INEC lacks nothing.
“We are therefore committed to ensuring that we give INEC everything it needs to organize a very free, transparent and credible 2023 general election.
"We are here anytime between now and June 11, when our term also expires as the NASS Legislature.
“But until then, whatever INEC needs to make 2023 a success, we will surely and certainly provide such support,” he said.
(NAN)
Barring any last-minute changes, President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the 2023 Finance Bill on Tuesday.
Senate President Ahmed Lawan confirmed this to State House correspondents on Friday after a closed-door meeting with Mr Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Mr. Lawan revealed that he had discussed some national issues with Mr Buhari, including the president's recent request for an additional loan, the legislature's support for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the general elections and the bill. budget of 2023.
He said, "We look forward to Mr. President signing the Finance Bill 2023, by the grace of God, on Tuesday.
"This is because we signed the document yesterday (Thursday), having wasted time due to some anomalous numbers we had in the National Assembly Bill (NASS).
"But thank goodness NASS in both houses passed Appropriation Bill 2023 on Wednesday, and I'm sure Mr. President and his team on the executive side will be working on what we we did.
"And first thing on Tuesday, the first official working day of the year, I believe Mr. President will sign the 2023 budget bill."
He lamented that the NASS would have passed the bill a week earlier had it not been for the irregularities spotted in the bill.
"We are very happy to have been able, over the past four years, to ensure the vote on finance bills in record time before each Christmas, and Mr. President had always signed before the end of the year.
"This year, in particular, it is because of the abnormal, very undesirable and unfortunate situation that we had to delay a little.
"You will recall that NASS had to cut short its Christmas vacation and return on Wednesday for the sole purpose of passing the appropriations bill that we could have passed a week earlier. So, all the same, we don't 'we missed nothing,' he said.
According to him, the harmonious working relationship between the executive and the legislature has made it possible to regularize the signing of finance bills since 2018, resulting in a budget "predictable from January to December" for our country.
On the 2023 general election, Mr. Lawan pledged that NASS would continue to assist and support INEC to enable it to organize credible elections.
"We also discussed the 2023 general election. The current NASS has always supported the executive in ensuring that INEC gets whatever is needed to make it work to ensure that the elections are supported, that the INEC lacks nothing.
“We are therefore committed to ensuring that we give INEC everything it needs to organize a very free, transparent and credible 2023 general election.
"We are here anytime between now and June 11, when our term also expires as the NASS Legislature.
“But until then, whatever INEC needs to make 2023 a success, we will surely and certainly provide such support,” he said.
(NAN)
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