President Buhari, Saraki meet over 2017 Budget

President Muhammadu Buhari and the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday met behind closed doors as part of preparation towards the presentation of the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.

The meeting was held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday approved the document, paving the way for Buhari to present it to the federal lawmakers.

The Minister of Budget, Udo Udoma, had told State House correspondents that it would be at the discretion of the National Assembly to decide when the budget would be presented after the President must have communicated his intention to them.

Saraki told reporters after the meeting with the President that the document would be presented within the next 10 days.

He expressed optimism that with the level of works that had gone into the preparation, the budget would be passed into law by the National Assembly earlier than that of previous ones.

He said, “I came for consultation with the President on a number of national issues. We are all getting towards the end of the year, getting the budget. Just regular consultation.

“We are ready, once the document comes to us, we are ready. I think this time around, a lot of works have taken place behind the scene.

“There is a lot more collaboration and you will see the result of that in the timeframe it will take after the President will have presented it.”