After much delay, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to sign the 2018 national budget into law on Wednesday, June 20, according to a statement released by the president’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu. Shehu confirmed the development in a telephone interview, according to a report by The Punch. The special assistant to the president said: “I can confirm to you that the President will sign the budget into law at midday on Wednesday.”

Shehu also said the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council that normally holds every Wednesday will not hold on June 20. The special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, had on Wednesday, June 13, told State House correspondents that the budget would be signed into law this week. Adesina, however, didn’t specify the date the budget would be signed.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that the president gave reasons for the adjustment of the 2018 budget allocation from N8.6 trillion to 9.12 trillion by the National Assembly. The senior special assistant to the president on National Assembly matters, Senator Ita Enang, on Sunday, May 27, said the upward adjustment was aimed at accommodating the swing in the price of crude oil in the international market. After many squabbles between the executive and the legislature, the Senate passed the budget on Wednesday, May 16. The National Assembly had said that 2018 budget was delayed for months due to the inability of some ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs) who have failed to submit their details within the stipulated time.

Originally Posted by Naij.com