It is no longer news that President Muhammadu
Buhari has signed the 2016 budget into power. But
the statement made by the Nigerian leader
afterwards are quite key.
The signing of the budget had been anticipated by
Nigerians who have described the president as a
very slow individual who has no serious plans for
the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari handing over the
2016 budget after signing it.
But after signing the 2016 budget, the president
addressed Nigerians on how he feels after signing
the document.

Below are 12 key things he said after assenting the
budget:

1. It gives me great pleasure today to sign the first
full-year budget of this administration into law. I
thank the leadership of the National Assembly, in
particular, the Senate President and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, and indeed all
members of the National Assembly for their
cooperation in making this a reality.

2. The budget is intended to signpost a renewal of
our commitment to restoring the budget as a
serious article of faith with the Nigerian people. This
Administration is committed to ensuring that
henceforth the annual appropriation bill is presented
to the National Assembly in time for the passage of
the Act before the beginning of the fiscal year.

3. Through the 2016 budget, aptly titled “Budget of
Change’’, the government seeks to fulfill its own
side of the social contract. The Budget I have signed
into law provides for aggregate expenditures of
N6.06trn. Further details of the approved budget, as
well as our Strategic Implementation Plan for the
2016 budget, will be provided by the Honourable
Minister of Budget and National Planning.

4. I shall be speaking in more details about the
Budget, its implementation and the over-all national
economic and social policies of the Government in
my address on May 29th, God willing.

5. In designing the 2016 budget, we made a
deliberate choice to pursue an expansionary fiscal
policy despite the huge decline in government
revenues from crude oil exports. This is why we
decided to enlarge the budget deficit at this time, to
be financed principally through foreign and domestic
borrowings. All borrowings will however be applied
towards growth-enhancing capital expenditures.

6. The signing of the budget today will trigger
concerted efforts to reflate the Nigerian economy, a
key element of which is an immediate injection of
N350bn into the economy by way of capital
projects. To illustrate our renewed commitment to
infrastructural development, the 2016 budget
allocates over N200bn to road construction as
against a paltry N18bn allocated for same purpose
in the 2015 budget.
President Buhari signing the 2016 budget into law
after several controversies.

7. Despite the current difficulties we will work
extra-hard to achieve our revenue projections. Our
revenue generating agencies are coming under
better management and are being re-oriented. The
implementation of the Treasury Single Account
(TSA) is expected to contribute significantly to
improving transparency over government revenues.

8. Our determined fight against corruption is
resulting in improvements in the quality of public
expenditure. The work of the Efficiency Unit, as well
as other public financial management initiatives, are
also contributing in this regard. The continuing
efforts to reduce recurrent expenditures should
hopefully free up more funds for capital expenditure
in 2017 and beyond.

9. As I said in my New Year message, living in
State House does not in any way alienate me from
your daily struggles. I read the newspapers and
listen to the TV and radio news. I hear your cries. I
share your pains.

10. We are experiencing probably the toughest
economic times in the history of our Nation. I want
to commend the sacrifice, resilience and toughness
of all Nigerians young and old who have despite the
hardships continued to have hope and confidence of
a great future for Nigerians. But permit me to say
that this government is also like none other. We are
absolutely committed to changing the structure of
the Nigerian economy once and for all.

11.We are working night and day to diversify the
economy so that we never again have to rely on one
commodity to survive as a country. So that we can
produce the food we eat, make our own textiles,
produce most of the things we use. We intend to
create the environment for our young peoples to be
able to innovate and create jobs through technology.

12. I cannot promise you that this will be an easy
journey, but in the interest of so much and so many
we must tread this difficult path. I can assure you
that this government you have freely elected will
work with honesty and dedication, day and night to
ensure that our country prospers and that the
prosperity benefits all Nigerians. God bless Federal
Republic of Nigeria.

https://www.naij.com/822519-must-read-12-key-things-president-buhari-said-signing-2016-budget-law.html