Buhari to present budget to NASS next week.

The presidency on Tuesday gave reasons President Muhamadu Buhari didn’t keep to his administration’s promises to present the 2020 budget to the National Assembly in the third week of September.

This came as findings from our source indicated that the non-presentation of the estimate had increased pressure on the administration to achieve return of the country to the January December budget targets.

On why Buhari was unable to keep to his promise of September presentation,the presidency blame it on the fact that the national assembly had yet to consider and pass the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper,which should ordinarily precedes the estimates.

It also noted that throughout last week, Buhari was away to the United States, where he participated in the activities of the 74^th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

It added that the UNGA session would have delayed the presentation had the national Assembly passed the MTEF.

Incidentally, it was said that the letter conveying the MTEF to NASS was only read to the law makers on September 25 the same last week.

The MTEF sets out the federal Government’s spending plans for next three years, detailing both revenue profiles and spending projections. But , in his response to enquiries by the PUNCH, the Senior Special Assistant to President on National Assembly Matters (Reps), Mr Umar El-Yakub, argued that much as the presentation was delayed, it was for some reasons.