The Anti-Corruption and Research-based Data Initiative (ARDI) has dragged the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to court seeking a declaration that the National Assembly cannot unilaterally tinker with the 2017 budget by adding or removing items without the consent of the Executive.

Executive Secretary of the organisation and a former spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Dennis Emeka Aghanya, said in Abuja that the organisation has filed a suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/884/2016 at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

In a statement on Monday, he said this has been an issue of contention between the Executive and the Legislative arms of government respectively and that their research has shown that since 1999 till the 2016 budget saga, most business activities are usually affected due to the problems associated with the delay in the passage of the appropriation bill.

This, according to him, is one of the major reasons for the slow economic activities every year.

"The 2016 Budget presentation and its final approval processes were characterized with much bickering leading to the late passage of the said budget. In the process, small and medium-sized enterprises, businesses, manufacturers, construction companies and most Nigerians in other sectors of the economy experienced serious economic challenges due to delay in the passage of the Budget," Aghanya said.

He said that now that another preparation is ongoing for another appropriation bill for the year 2017, there is need for the court to interpret the provisions of the constitution on appropriation to save the country from experiencing another delay in the passage of the budget.

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