Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has signed the 2017 appropriation bill into law on Monday, June 12, 2017, at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock.
He signed the bill at 4:40pm with Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Abba Kyari, all present at the signing ceremony.
After signing the Budget of Economic Recovery and Growth, he said, “I’d like to express appreciation to nassnigeria for completing the work of the 2017 Appropriations Bill.”
He continued, “The bleakness of recession is about to witness the uplifting dawn of abundance.”
On his Twitter handle (@ProfOsinbajo), he described the bill as “an important milestone in our eco recovery & growth plan laid in April by President Buhari.”
The Acting President also promised, “to submit #Budget2018 by Oct 2017, and have it passed into law by Dec 2017.”
Ever since President Buhari submitted the record 7.44 trillion naira budget to the National Assembly in December 2016, it has been dogged by a series of controversies.
It wasn’t until May 11, 2017 that both chambers of the National Assembly finally passed the bill and then issues started to arise over who would sign it into law.
President Buhari had embarked on a medical leave to London on May 7, and there were reports that he would still be the one to sign the document, despite Osinbajo already acting in his absence as the commander in chief.
Senior Special Assistant to Buhari on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang, on Wednesday, May 17, said the budget would be signed by Buhari before Information Minister, Ita Enang was forced to deny it, saying that a decision was yet to be reached.
After Osinbajo cancelled a planned June 1 signing of the bill for undisclosed reasons, it fueled more speculations that the presidency was going to reject it.
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