2016 Budget: The showdown continues

President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari will not sign the 2016 budget bill passed by the National Assembly last week unless lawmakers provide more details of the legislation, a government official said on Tuesday.

The move spells yet another delay of the record N6.06 trillion budget aimed at reviving the country’s economy, hit by a slump in oil prices. Buhari had presented a bill of N6.08 trillion in December before withdrawing it due to an unrealistic oil price assumption and flaws in the draft.

When it was re-presented, the National Assembly reduced it to N6.06 trillion. It was the first time since 1999 that the legislators would approve a figure lower than that proposed by the executive.

The National Assembly had earlier sent on Tuesday the bill – which calls for record spending to boost the economy – to the Presidency but it did not include any details, only highlights.

This makes it difficult for the president to what adjustments were made by the legislators.

“As a result, the president has been unable to sign the bill because he does not know what is contained in the details and what adjustments the National Assembly must have made to the proposal sent to them,” an official, who didn’t want to be named, told Reuters.

Buhari travelled to the USA on Wednesday returning on Sunday, his office said. This makes it unlikely the bill will be signed this week. Meanwhile, Nigerians are suffering because the president had promised to start serious work as soon as the budget it passed.

The new budget, which is based on an oil price of $38 a barrel, aims to recharge the economy by trebling capital spending compared with 2015’s plan.

The budget debated by a joint session of both chambers had left open how it would be financed. Officials previously suggested up to half of the estimated deficit of 3 trillion naira would be funded though the sale of Eurobonds or loans from China and international agencies. But no such deal has publicly emerged.

A deepening crisis slowed gross domestic product growth to 2.8 per cent in 2015, Nigeria’s weakest in decades.