Budget impasse: Lawmakers still working on grey areas

THE 10-man committee set up by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on 2016 budget is still working on the grey areas that caused the delay which made President Muhammdu Buhari to withhold his assent.
 

A source privy to this development told Vanguard: “We’re working round the clock to ensure that before midnight today (Sunday), all the differences have been properly ironed out. Immediately we achieve this, we’ll transmit it to the executive arm for the President’s assent.” He explained further that “nobody is happy about the delay so far but there is a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel.” 

Asked to list the grey areas, he simply said: “I can’t do that now but all the areas enumerated by the executive are being touched and streamlined to perfection. The way we are working on it now, within the next 24 hours, we may just hit our target of Monday.” But another source close to the committee told Vanguard that there was still a snag, saying even if the assignment was concluded today, it would still be presented to the leadership of both legislative chambers before it would be transmit to the executive. 

“This development may delay a little as we cannot transmit it to the executive without the consent of our leaders. As at this morning (Sunday), we had almost concluded it but this public holiday and the fact that our leaders must see it is the problem for now,” the source said. Recall that a 10-man National Assembly committee to interface with another five-man committee from the executive to harmonise all the grey areas pointed out by the Presidency on the 2016 budget, was set up last Wednesday. 

The 15-man committee, which has five members of the House of Representatives and five members of the Senate as well as five members from the executive, is expected to finish its assignment on or before today for Presidential assent expected to take place between tomorrow and Wednesday. 

The House of Representatives had embarked on a closed-door session on Wednesday to discus the outcome of the meeting among President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, were at the presidential villa on Tuesday evening.