2018 budget: ‘We stand by our actions’ – Senate tells Buhari

The Deputy Majority Leader in the Senate, Alhaji Bala Na'allah, has
reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari's claims that the lawmakers
inflated the 2018 appropriation bill.


While signing the budget at the Presidentail Villa, Abuja, the
President expressed concerns that it would be difficult for the
purpose of the 2018 budget to achieved due to some changes made by the
national assembly.

Reacting, Na'allah said on Wednesday that the National Assembly was
unperturbed by President Buhari's concerns about the adjustments it
made in the 2018 Appropriation Bill.


Na'allah, addressing reporters in Abuja, said that the job of the
National Assembly was a very difficult one, adding that the way the
budget came warranted that the National Assembly carried out some
adjustments.

"If we had allowed it to go that way (it came) we would have been in
trouble with those who elected us into office.

"You have to balance between the six geo-political zones.


"It is the balancing effort by the National Assembly that led to those
observations and happily enough he himself has said that he is coming
with supplementary appropriation which will be dealt with as quickly
as possible.

"I assure you about that one.

"It is a very delicate issue; if someone says he wants N500 billion
for the maintenance of the nation's bridges and then you expect the
National Assembly to say that budget is approved because it is coming
from the executive then we have not done our work.

"We will be interested in knowing which roads you say you want to
maintain so that we do not give another allocation in the next budget.

"The President's observations are correct but in the budgeting process
those things are normal,'' Na'allah stated.