Jonathan’ll get 2014 budget Tuesday – N’ Assembly Clerk

The National Assembly clerk said on Monday that the 2014 Appropriation Bill would be on the table of President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday.

Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, disclosed this to Newman in Abuja on Monday.

Maikasuwa spoke amid speculation that his office was allegedly delaying the transmission of the money bill to the President.

The Senate had passed the N4.6tr budget on April 9, while the House of Representatives passed it on April 10.

The two chambers had upped the total estimates by over N53bn from Jonathan’s original version.

Maikasuwa explained that though the two chambers acted on the budget on the 9th and 10th respectively, it was not until April 16 that the copy reached his desks from the clerks to the chambers.

He added that on getting the copy, he had to forward it to the Legal Unit for ‘necessary cross-checking’.

“You see, usually, there will be one or two errors to be corrected.

“It is a budget and we must be careful to remove the errors; that is the work of the legal unit.

“It is not true that I delayed it.

“By God’s grace, the budget will be transmitted on Tuesday”, Maikasuwa said on the telephone.

Jonathan is expected to sign the bill into law on arrival at the Presidency.

However, if he opts to withhold his ascent, he is required under the law to communicate his decision to the legislature in writing.

Last year, Jonathan had returned the 2013 budget to the National Assembly for “amendments” after he had signed it into law.

His action was not an outright rejection of the budget, but an understanding he reached with the leadership of both chambers to return it for amendments.

It is not yet known whether a similar scenario will play out again this year.