Don't expect magic; budget won't be ready in March.

On the issue of budget, the leadership of the House of Representatives has urged the citizenry not to expect magic, as the the final budget may not be ready in less than three months.

Chairman, House Committee on Media, Abdulrazak Namdas, stated this yesterday in an interview with newsmen.

He said:

“When the president presented his speech on the budget presentation day, he expressed the wish that the budget is approved by January 1st.

“We are saying that we will work faster, since the 2018 Appropriation Bill was brought a little bit earlier, we should also be able to approve the budget a little earlier.
“But I cannot be specific about a date, since we are few weeks to the end of December. This is about 20 siting days. So, if I sit here in the comfort of my office to assure Nigerians that the budget will be passed by 1st of January, you and even them will know it’s not feasible.
“For the budget process, you should be looking at a minimum of three months. We will deliberate on the basic principles of the budget, it will be committed to committees to work on it, meet with MDAs and they now send their report to the Appropriation Committee. All of these processes take time."