President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday formally received the details of the 2016 Appropriation Bill from the National Assembly.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, signed and collected the 1,800-page document on behalf of the President.
The document was handed over to Kyari by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang; and the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Samaila Kawu.
The presentation took place inside the Office of the Chief of Staff.
After the submission, Kyari led Enang and Kawu to the President’s Office where they met briefly.
The three of them emerged from the meeting a few minutes after with Enang still holding on to the document.
Enang later told State House correspondents that with the formal submission, the constitutional procedure would now follow.
He said, “The budget details has been transmitted to His Excellency, Mr. President today, the constitutional process begins thereafter.
“We have transmitted it to the Office of the President and the constitutional process of timing starts.”
Immediately after the brief interview, Enang joined Kyari and Kawu as they walked back to the Chief of Staff’s office.
The Office of the Chief of Staff which serves as interface between Buhari and ministers may be saddled with the responsibility of making the document available for the ministry-by-ministry review which the President said he would ensure is done before he signs the bill.
(Punch)
