From Fred Itua, Abuja
The much-awaited report of the 2017 Appropriation Bill (budget), may be laid before the Senate in plenary today and possibly passed into law, Daily Sun gathered yesterday evening.
There are apprehensions of a possible shutdown if the budget is not passed today, but Senate sources said the fears are unnecessary.
According to the sources, President Muhammadu Buhari still has a window of six months to draw from the 2016 budget to fund recurrent expenditures if the 2017 budget is not passed and assented to before tomorrow (May 5).
Buhari assented to the current 2017 budget on May 6, 2016. The implication is that the 2016 budget has a circle of May 6, 2016, to May 5, 2017.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, had assured that the 2017 budget would be passed before the expiration of the 2016 budget.
However, Goje told the Senate last week that police operatives who raided his home on April 20, 2017, carted away documents on the 2017 budget.
He said the action of the police made it difficult for his committee to continue work on the budget.
The police, which immediately returned all the documents and cash they took from Goje’s residence, denied carting away budget documents from Goje’s home.