Acting
President Yemi Osinbajo will assent to the 2017 budget when he is satisfied
with the content, his spokesperson said on Wednesday, in apparent reaction to a
report that Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government was unsure of
who to sign the budget.
Earlier on Wednesday, Vanguard newspaper had
published a report entitled: “We don’t know who will sign 2017 budget – Lai
Mohammed.”
“It’s absolute rubbish,” said Mr. Mohammed,
dismissing the report when contacted by Premium Times.
Coming shortly after President Muhammadu
Buhari’s “medical follow-up” letter to the Senate had generated controversy,
Nigerians started expressing concerns over the effectiveness of Mr. Osinbajo.
In that letter, Mr. Buhari invoked Section
145(1) of the Constitution, transferring full powers to Mr. Osinbajo, but said
his deputy would “coordinate” affairs of the government in his absence.
Mr. Buhari’s use of “coordinate” instead of
“will perform duties of my office” or “act on my behalf” as previously used had
unsettled the polity.
But the spokesperson to the acting president,
Laolu Akande, stressed his principal would sign the budget into law in due
course.
“Just so we are clear: when the time comes,
everything is set, and he is satisfied, Ag. President Yemi Osinbajo will assent
to the 2017 Budget,” tweeted Mr. Akande.
The
National Assembly had last week passed the budget,increasing the total sum by
N143 billion compared to what was sent by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The lawmakers are, however, yet to transmit the
budget to the presidency amidst reports some senators are dissatisifed with the
final version.
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