President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday signed the 2020 Appropriation Bill into law during a brief ceremony at State House, Abuja.
The ceremony was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila of the House of Representatives, the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Boss Mustapha, and the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed.
Buhari, in his speech, directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and all Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure effective implementation of the 2020 Budget.
The president, who said an appropriate 2020 – 2022 Borrowing Plan would be forwarded to the National Assembly in due course since it’s a deficit budget, sought the support of Senate President and Speaker again by ensuring quick consideration and approval of the Plan. He said the adjustments made to the budget had been examined and might revert to the National Assembly with a request for a Virement or other relevant amendments. He said the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning would make a public presentation of the details of the approved budget. He said that it was a pleasant duty to sign the 2020 Appropriation Bill into law on his 77th birthday and thanked the leaders and members of National Assembly for passing the Appropriation Bill “expeditiously”. He said in the twenty years since the return to civilian democracy, this would be just the fourth time that the federal budget was passed before the end of the previous year, and the earliest. The president said he had directed that efforts be made to ensure the presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in September 2020 and voiced confidence that all Federal MDAs would cooperate with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to keep to the timeline.
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