₦airaland Forum

In line with the National Assembly’s resolve to
meet with the executive to iron out the
differences over the 2016 Appropriation Bill,
Senate President Bukola Saraki last night met
with President Muhammadu Buhari to reach a
truce on the budget.
His meeting followed a similar one held yesterday
afternoon between the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the
president on the budget.
Emerging from his closed-door meeting, Saraki
informed State House correspondents that the
National Assembly and the presidency had found
a way of resolving the impasse over the budget.
He said the executive arm of government and the
National Assembly agreed to set up committees
that would work together to harmonise areas of
disagreement.
Saraki said: “We just finished a meeting with the
president and the vice-president. We came to
work out the solutions that we found in moving
the budget process forward and we are happy to
say that we have agreed on the way forward, and
we believe that this process will be completed in a
matter of days rather than weeks.
“So it is good for Nigerians and for all of us, we
have found a way forward and in a matter of
days, the budget will be ready for the president’s
assent.”
When asked what the way forward was, he said:
“We have committees that have been set up on
our side and also on the executive’s side, we will
engage over the next few days, to just tidy up a
few loose ends and ensure that the outcome is
satisfactory to everyone.”
On if the budget would be signed this week,
Saraki said: “You heard what I just said, I said in a
matter of days and not weeks; so you can start
counting the days which means that between
now and Monday or Tuesday, I’m hopeful that the
budget will be signed.”
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and National
Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who was
at the meeting, said: “We have agreed to work
together to resolve all issues in the next few days
and we have also agreed on the modalities of
doing so, so it was a very good meeting, very
positive and within the next few days all issues
will be resolved.
“We are working together, both the executive
and the legislature, to sort those things out and
within the next few days all matters will be
resolved.”
Earlier yesterday, the speaker met behind closed-
doors with the president on the same matter.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari,
and Senior Special Assistant to the President on
National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang,
were present at the meeting with Dogara.
The president’s meetings with the leadership of
the National Assembly came on the heels of the
move by 77 first-term senators, known as the
G77, to resolve the budget impasse by Friday.
Briefing newsmen after its meeting in the National
Assembly yesterday, the group said the
protracted controversies over the budget had
become embarrassing to the nation, adding that
the group was committed to bringing the
impasse to an end by Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the group, its chairman
and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill
Akpabio, added that the group was formed to
promote good governance and simultaneously
provide meaningful support to the president with
a view to guaranteeing the delivery of the
dividends of democracy to the citizenry.
Akpabio, who dismissed a media report that the
group was formed to serve as a platform to
confront the president, added that the group was
committed to ensuring that the budget is quickly
re-examined and sent back to Buhari for his
assent.
He added that the objective of the group was not
driven by political affiliation but targeted at
deepening democracy.
He said: “All the social media reports that are
thinking that this group is meant to confront the
executive or ranking senators – those reports are
not true.
“As I speak to you, outside these 77 senators,
most of my colleagues who have been in the Red
Chamber for a long time are applying to join the
group. And they want to move it to G90 so that
we can always speak with one voice.
“The lingering issue on the budget is something
that we feel is embarrassing to Nigeria, not just to
the National Assembly. If we had a group like this,
by now that issue would have been brought to an
end.
“But just to reassure you that Mr. President will
have his budget, and we are doing everything
possible to rejig the details of the 2016 budget for
Mr. President to sign as soon as possible.
“We hope we can finish that by this Friday so that
things can take off in the Nigerian economy.
“The group is apolitical and cuts across the
Labour Party, PDP and APC. We are all senators of
the Eighth Senate of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. We are not interested in political parties,
we are interested in Nigeria and we will only be
discussing national issues.
“We are not set to confront any executive, rather
we will work with the executive. The intention of
this group is to deepen democracy, ensure the
sanitisation of the Senate and to shore up the
image of the Senate and most importantly to give
the president the needed support so that at the
end of the day, we will have a better country for
all.”
Earlier, Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, said the
National Assembly leadership and the presidency
had scheduled a meeting on the budget crisis for
3 pm last Friday, but the meeting was cancelled
because the information was circulated after most
lawmakers had left Abuja for their various
constituencies.
He assured Nigerians that the meeting would hold
this week, but dismissed speculations that a letter
had been sent to the Senate by Buhari on the
“grey areas” in the budget.
Ndume added that since appropriation was the
business of the National Assembly, no one should
have expected that the budget would have been
returned to the executive without being tinkered
with.
Also yesterday, the National Assembly Service
Commission rejected the order from Saraki asking
it to reverse the appointment of the Clerk of the
House of Representatives, Mohammed Sani-
Omolori, as the acting Clerk of the National
Assembly

“I came in by the ballot, not by the gun, not by
placards. I have posters but not placards. So if for
example, I am short of performance and my
constituents feel that they don’t have time to
waste, there is a clear cut process to collect
signatures and ask for me to be recalled.
“That is the democratic way, not by coming in
here to stand and say you want to occupy
National Assembly.”

iflywithbuhari:
Contrary to the lies being circulated by mo, Saraki was at a meeting with Dogara and President Mumudu Buhari
www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/04/27/buhari-meets-saraki-dogara-reaches-truce-on-budget/

Senate President Bukola Saraki last night met
with President Muhammadu Buhari to reach a
truce on the budget.

iflywithbuhari:
Contrary to the lies being circulated by modath, Saraki was at a meeting with Dogara and President Mumudu Buhari

did you read this news at all before rushing to copy and paste? I'm not sure you do , because if you have taken your time to read , you would have seen that the meeting was a follow up to an earlier one between the President and Dogara which Saraki was definitely not part of.

www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/04/27/buhari-meets-saraki-dogara-reaches-truce-on-budget/

modath:
You know MO is IPOD/PDP mouthpiece Vanguard nah?

You are not very bright, if you were, you'd have observed that both news article had different timelines..

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/budget-saraki-stays-away-speaker-dogara-meets-buhari-villa/

One meeting was in the daytime while the other was at night!!

& Pray tell, what happened to wailers' opinion that he was too "big" to be summoned by the CinC?

Also let me reiterate this, Y'all are non factors! Swerve!

madridguy:
@ OP, which one is lie in what modath posted last night? Is she vanguard newspaper or you're too old to see the bold source/link?

iflywithbuhari:
Shutup. The first story indicated a definite outcome. Why did you and your source proclaim to us that Saraki would not patronise any meeting called by the President. They should have gotten word from the Saraki's camp before rushing to release that trash
PS: The story first emanated from ThisDay

modath:
Thanks bro, Abeg helep me ask the deluded PTSD afflicted fellow!!

I don't get why they think everyone is like their no sound judgement having self..!!!

They don't read & when the manage to do, the oyinbo is either to "big" to penetrate or it gets lost while processing inside of the bile left from Hero/PDP's election walloping!!


That's how they some keep camping in my mentions, spewing a lot of crap, sometimes cussing their "families, thinking they can intimidate me or douse the tempo of my opinions.... Nah, dem nor reach!! I have my insects repellent!!

SamuelAnyawu:
I hope they won't blame GEJ too....Confused Party

dunkem21:
The way people bring half baked haphazard article to NL is worrisome .. Just to shout Crookola Saratiff ..

Saraki must be making some wet their panties