SOON: 2018 Budget to be presented to NASS in October 2017 - Enang

Senator Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), has said that the 2018 Budget proposal will be presented to the National Assembly by October.

He made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

According to him, the 2018 budget is one of the matters that was agreed between the Legislature and the Executive at the assent session by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

“What was agreed on was that this budget will run a cycle that should end in Dec 2017. We are working toward presenting the budget by October.

“The Ministry of Budget and National Planning, I and the DG Budget Office of the Federation did a presentation and a briefing to the leadership of the Assembly on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper for 2018 as the basis for the presentation.

“What we are doing is to make sure we make every person to make inputs before we even present it to them.

“This is aimed at ensuring that by October every matter relating to the pre-loading of the budget is done,” Enang said.

The presidential aide said he was happy with the close relationship existing between the executive and the legislature.

“I appreciate the National assembly for the cordial working relationship that the executive has enjoyed in the first two legislative years of the 8th Assembly.

“It was a constitutionally engaging and legislative active year between the Executive and the Legislature,” Enang said.

He commended both arms of the government for sticking to their beats saying each arm was simply relying on the Constitution.

He congratulated the National Assembly for the transparent manner in which it carried out the Constitution amendment exercise.