Buhari Yet To Receive 2018 Budget From NASS – Udoma

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, says the National Assembly is yet to transmit the 2018 Budget to President Muhammadu Buhari, a week after its passage.

Speaking with State House correspondents shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, the minister said the executive will work on the budget “very quickly” as soon as they receive it.

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He further dismissed media reports linking him with a statement suggesting the President might not assent on the Budget after the National Assembly jacked it up.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Minister was earlier quoted to have said that President Muhammadu Buhari might not assent to the 2018 budget which was raised to N9.1 trillion by the National Assembly with additional N501 billion.

The senate increased the 2018 budget from N8.612 trillion as proposed by President Buhari to N9.12 trillion while the crude oil benchmark price of the budget was also increased from 45 dollars to 50.5 dollars.

“We are yet to receive the budget. So it is impossible for anybody to have made a statement from the executive about budget until we actually receive the budget and go through the budget,” Udoma said.

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“So, any story you read in any newspaper cannot be correct because nobody in the executive is in a position until we examine the budget to make any statement about it.

“But once we get it (budget) we will work very, very quickly.’’

Udoma further stated that the FEC expressed excitement over the latest GDP report for the 1st quarter of 2018 which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

The NBS report predicted a GDP growth rate of 1.95 per cent for the nation.

Speaking also, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, revealed that the Council ratified the Protocol to eliminate the illicit trade in Tobacco products.

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He said the ratification would enable Nigeria control smuggling, and track tobacco marketing and raise taxes on the product.

“At today’s meeting Council ratified the protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products. As you might be aware Nigeria is a party to the WHO framework convention on tobacco control.

“What has happened now is that we have taken a step further by ratifying the protocol that we will control the illicit trade in tobacco.

“The beauty of this is that we now have a place once it is ratified and signed we will now be able control smuggling; we will be able to track tobacco marketing and we will able to raise taxes and minimize the adverse effects of tobacco directly and indirectly,’’ he said.

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