Acting President Yemi Osinbajo will no longer sign the 2017 budget on Thursday 1st June, 2017, after reports filtered into the media Wednesday afternoon that the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara had been invited by the Presidency for the Budget Signing by 9.00AM today, Thursday.
SIGNAL had exclusively broke the news of the Budget Signing Wednesday afternoon following details from a top National Assembly source who disclosed that the budget was due to be signed on Thursday and that the presiding officers of the National Assembly had been invited to witness the exercise.
But in a dramatic twist, the presidency made a last-minute cancellation of the exercise, Wednesday evening. A top Presidency source informed about the development told SIGNAL the Budget Signing was frustrated by the power cabal within the Aso Rock presidency loyal to ailing President Muhammadu Buhari. The cabal, the source disclosed, blocked the Budget Signing based on claims that President Buhari was returning from his sick leave next week.
“The cabal in charge of Aso Rock has spoken and whenever they speak, it is final. All had been set for the Budget Signing Thursday morning. The leaders of the National Assembly had been already invited but the cabal insisted that it will not happen. According to them, there is no need to hurriedly sign the budget because President Buhari is returning to Nigeria next week. The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has been put in a tight corner where he does not want to be seen as making too much effort to usurp the powers of President Buhari. So he backed down from signing the budget without a fight”, the source said.
Recall that there had been a controversy over whether Osinbajo would sign the budget or not. But his aide, Laolu Akande, said he would do so when he is satisfied with it.
The National Assembly passed the budget on 11th May 2017, and it was transmitted to the presidency on 18th May 2017.
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