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BREAKING: Saraki Gives Budget Committee Thursday Deadline To Submit Report Or Else...

"Last week, we all took a decision here that we are not going to waiver on our position. Our position is very clear: that all committees should submit (their budget reports). And those that don't submit, then the Appropriations Committee should use the Executive submission."

Senate President Bukola Saraki on Tuesday gave the Appropriations Committee till Thursday to submit the 2019 budget report, otherwise the executive submission will be activated.

Briefing the Senate on the  progress made so far on budget reports, Sunday Ogbuoji, Vice Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, had said just 24 out of the 61 sub-committees had submitted their reports.

Reacting to Ogbuoji's submission, Saraki insisted that the budget report must be presented on Thursday, April 11 ahead of the April 16 approval of the money bill.

Saraki  added that the Appropriations committee will be forced to use executive submissions if the sub-committee fails to submit their reports to the committee by Wednessday.

"It is unfortunate that only 24 committees have submitted their reports," he lamented.

"Last week, we all took a decision here that we are not going to waiver on our position. Our position is very clear: that all committees should submit (their budget reports). And those that don't submit, then the Appropriations Committee should use the Executive submission.

"That position is still where we are. And I want to appeal to all our committees that you really have till tomorrow [Wednesday] to make sure that your reports get to the Appropriations Committee because Thursday, you must lay this report.

"Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, if you don't get report from our committee by tomorrow, then you just use the submission of the Executive. But come Thursday, you must lay that report."

Last week, the Committee on Appropriations missed what was supposed to be the deadline for submitting its report on the 2019 budget.

At the plenary on Tuesday April 2, where the report was scheduled to be presented, Ogbuoji had said it was not ready because some committees were yet to submit their reports.

He said less than 10 committees had submitted their reports, and issued an ultimatum to the committees, stating that for any committee that fails to submit its report by Friday April 5, the Senate Committee on Appropriations would go with the submission of the executive.

President Muhammadu Buhari presented an N8.83 trillion budget proposal to a joint session of the National Asembly on Decembetr 19, 2018.

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