2016 budget: We are ready to comply with Buhari – Senate

– The Senate have been on recess for three weeks

– The Senate discussed issues bordering the 2016 budget in a closed door session

– The Senate has shown readiness to work with the executive

Despite the controversies surrounding the 2016 budget, the senate on Tuesday, April 12 has shown readiness to honour a supplementary appropriation bill which will contain any omission in the document.

Abdullahi Sabi, the chairman Senate committee on media and publicity who briefed journalists after plenary, said the Senate is open to legislate on a supplementary budget, which would among other ommissions contain the much talked about Lagos- Calabar rail project.

“What we issued yesterday remains our position. Today, all we did was confirm the true pictures of these situations. I had to verify my facts and speak on those facts. I think we have made that clear.

READ ALSO: Amaechi mentioned Lagos-Calabar railway in budget defence

“Yes we have passed the budget, Nigerians are asking what next? What is important is for the budget to be signed. The constitution has taken note these kind of omissions of allocations.

“We issued that statement to clarify the situation and not to confront any authotity. We arre a democratic institution and whatever we do, we remain guided by the ground norm of the constitution.

“Like we said, the Lagos calabar rail project was not included in the buudget and does not in any way undermine the fact that it is an important project for this nation to embark on. NASS is open if the executive brings a supplemantary appropriation, we are ready and willing to consider such, he said.

Sabi had said in a statement on Monday, April 11, that the item- Lagos-Calabar rail project- was not in the original budget, and had advised the presidency not to set the people against the national assembly.

They advised the Presidency to come clean with Nigerians on the 2016 Budget and stop engaging in surreptitious campaigns of calumny against the Senate in order to cover up its serial errors.

Reacting to claims in the media credited to the Executive arm of government on the 2016 budget, Sabi said the National Assembly had bent backwards to wring a coherent document out of the excessively flawed and chaotic versions of the budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly.

READ ALSO: Lagos to Calabar railway was not in 2016 budget – Ashafa

Recall that media reports said lawmakers scrapped the N60 billion earmarked Lagos-Calabar rail project diverting N40 billion from the earmarked project to the Lagos-Kano rail project.

However, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, chairman Senate committee on land transport, cleared the air in a press statement saying Lagos to Calabar rail line was not in the original document that was presented to the National Assembly by the executive.

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