Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Henry Umoru ABUJA —The Senate, yesterday, expressed concern over the failure of federal agencies to submit their 2017 budget proposal to the National Assembly in line with extant law for consideration and approval. Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, who drew the attention of his colleagues to the abnormality during plenary, yesterday, said it was wrong for agencies to spend money that has not been appropriated by the legislature. The Senate President, who condemned the practice where agencies of government spend money without statutory approval by the National Assembly, ruled that the issue be debated and resolution taken by the Senate today. Saraki said: “We are already in May. How can parastatals be operating without a budget, especially in this time of the fight against corruption to ensure that there is transparency in governance? We need to take this matter seriously because clearly, these agencies are just flouting the guidelines and bre...

http://ift.tt/2qxPYvD ..Noticeable distortions may delay Presidential assent ..Osinbajo, EMT review 2017 budget By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor & Levinus Nwabughiogu ABUJA— A fresh row may be in the offing between the Executive and the Legislative arms of government over the 2017 budget. This is because the Presidency appears not to be in a hurry to assent to the 2017 Appropriation Bill, which the National Assembly passed late last week, Vanguard learned from a top federal official last night. However, Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and the Presidential Economic Management Team, EMT, have commenced a review of the 2017 budget, even without the details of the Appropriation Bill at their disposal yet. But one of the top officials of the Federal Government expressed fears that the budget had been ‘altered’ in many ways by the lawmakers after spending more than five months deliberating on the document. N143bn added to Buhari’s figure The official questioned wher...