FROM JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, ABUJA
AN extra-ordinary Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held Friday to look critically at the 2016 Appropriation bill recently passed by the National Assembly.
The meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in attendance began scrutiny of the budget ministry by ministry.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last week insisted that the 2016 budget details will be scrutinised before he signs it.
President’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang; and the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Samaila Kawu, handed over the 1,800-page document to the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari on Thursday in the presence of the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma.
Speaking with State House correspondents during short break of the meeting, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said: “We have received the details of the 2016 budget from the National Assembly and an extra-ordinary Federal Executive Council meeting was called to avail every minister to look at the details of the budget and see how it affects each of the ministries.
“And also at this point, it is still work in progress we have broken up to resume later in the afternoon. We will come out with a statement later”, he said.