October deadline for 2018 budget submission to NASS sacrosanct – FG

Sen. Ita Enang, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), said submission of 2018 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in October was sacrosanct.

Enang gave the assurance when he appeared at the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja, and said that the Federal Government was committed to the deadline.

He said that the government was working assiduously to ensure that the deadline was complied with to take the country back to the annual budget cycle of January to December.

According to him, different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have made their budget inputs and submissions to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

“The ministers are already appearing before the ministry and defending their submissions.

“It is intended that in the next few days they would have completed the exercise and have the total of the budget as well as get ready with the final draft.

“Everything is being done to ensure that we keep to the date,’’ Enang said.

He added that in presenting the 2018 proposal in October, “the national assembly will consider it between October and November and by December it would have been passed.

“The current budget will end in 12 months and having been signed on June 12, 2016, the budget is legally to run between June 12, 2017 and June 12, 2018.

“But the intention of the government is to make sure that the implementation date and assent will be for January 1, 2018 so that we will return the budget to the conventional January.’’

NAN