Budget: I look forward to improved relationship with NASS -Buhari

By Lawrence Olaoye

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he was looking forward to a mutual and effective working relationship with the ninth National Assembly toward improving the budgetary process and restoring the country to the January-December fiscal cycle.
According to a statement made available to newsmen yesterday by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President said this while receiving his old school mates, who came to congratulate him on his re-election for a second term in Daura, Katsina state.
He recounted how the delay in the passage of budgets hindered timely execution of projects across the country.
With the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential election and majority seats in the ninth Senate, Buhari expressed confidence that more work would be done to improve the efficiency of the budgetary process.
The President told his classmates in the 1953 set of Katsina Middle School, Daura, led by Senator Abba Ali, that it was on record that the 2018 budget proposals submitted to the National Assembly on November 7, 2017, was passed after seven months.
Notwithstanding the challenges, the President assured his classmates that the Executive arm of government, under his watch, will strive towards effective implementation of national budgets while promoting transparency and accountability.
He thanked his old school colleagues for the ‘reunion’, commending their interest and useful suggestions on advancing Nigeria’s prosperity and stability.
In his remarks, Senator Ali, while congratulating the President on his re-election, said majority of Nigerians believed in his purposeful leadership and resoundingly renewed his mandate.
The Senator, who wished the President more success in his second-term, noted that the country will benefit more when the executive and legislative branches of government work in unison on national interests.