2017 Budget: I can’t confirm when it’ll be laid

STRONG indications emerged yesterday that 2017 Appropriation Bill which ought to be laid today may not be presented to senators for passage. Speaking with Vanguard yesterday night on the position of the budget and whether the document would be laid, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, who noted that the Committee on Appropriations, headed by Senator Danjuma Goje, was working on the document, said he could not confirm when the document would be laid. Senator Abdullahi, who is also a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said: “They are doing the harmonisation, data cleaning, just trying to do due diligence to make sure everything is fully in place. ‘’That’s the most critical stage because it is a thorough, painstaking job. If you notice today, you didn’t see the chairman appropriation in the chamber and they are working very hard on it. “I cannot confirm when it will be laid. All I know is that they are working very hard to make sure everything is put in place. It is something that if we make one mistake, it’s a whole document and it’s a bulky documents with thousands of pages.” On whether he was aware that the 2016 budget, which has its life (especially the capital expenditure) extended to May 5, 2017 will expire this week, thus placing a huge encumbrance on government spending, Senator Sabi said: “If you check, it’s May 5 and we are going to catch up and there’s no problem. We are very much aware of all these things, that’s why you saw us coming so that the right thing will be done to get things working. “There’s no politician who will not want to make progress because we are the one at the receiving end. We are more than worried and we really want everything to happen well.