Budget: Buhari, N/Assembly yet to close gaps

President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly are yet to close ranks on the budget impasse, Daily Trust gathered yesterday.
Our correspondent reports that the meeting between the president and the leadership of the National Assembly convened to address the grey areas in the budget was rescheduled for this week.

A presidency source told Daily Trust last night that they had uncovered moves by the National Assembly to pressurise Buhari to sign the budget first before an amendment for the changes requested by the president to be effected.
But the source added that it was part of the plan by the legislature to “box Buhari into a corner” so that after he might have signed the budget, they would accuse him of not willing to implement it.
Thus, the source said, the president was insisting that the National Assembly should make the changes he requested before he signs the budget.
The Friday meeting was initially fixed for 3.pm by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation David Babachir Lawal after President Buhari confirmed to him that he would be free at that time.
However, the source added that the meeting had to be rescheduled for 4.pm after Senate President Bukola Saraki appealed that he would still be in Ilorin at that time due to flight problem. But President Buhari was said to be engaged at that time.
Even at that, the source said the document to be discussed at the meeting, being prepared by the SGF’s office, was not ready, hence the postponement of the meeting.
“The meeting is rescheduled for this week, but left to us, there is no need for them to meet with the president again. All they should do is to make the changes so that the president will sign the document,” our source said.
A National Assembly source privy to the matter told Daily Trust yesterday that the meeting was rescheduled at the instance of the presidency because they had some other pressing issues at hand.
The source said there was no way the leadership of the National Assembly would decide to call off a meeting with the president on such an important matter as the budget.
Our source added that the meeting would hold between Tuesday (today) and Wednesday (tomorrow), adding that the National Assembly was ever ready to re-examine the budget based on the observations made by the president.
The source added that as far as the lawmakers were concerned, it was the presidency that was running out of time as the National Assembly had done its part by passing the budget more than a  month ago.
When contacted, the Senate Leader Ali Ndume confirmed that the meeting had been rescheduled for this week.
“You know the meeting was scheduled for Friday after we had all left for our respective constituencies, as you know, we close on Thursdays. By God’s grace the meeting will hold this week,” he said in a phone interview.
Emphasising that the budget impasse was not abnormal in a democratic setting, he said Nigerians would smile at the end of it.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, said he was not aware of the postponement of the meeting.
“We are discussing on solving the problems of the budget at different levels and we are doing so much on it.  So don’t worry whether there is meeting or no meeting, all is well between the executive and the legislature,” he said last night.