President Buhari Signs 2016 Budget

President Mohammadu Buhari on Friday signed the 2016 Appropriation Bill into law giving way for full implementation of the budget.

The budget was signed at a brief ceremony held inside the President’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja with the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the chairmen of the National Assembly appropriation committees in attendance.

The President withheld assent for weeks due to grey areas in the 2016 Budget passed by the National Assembly and the N6.08 trillion proposal he submitted to the joint sitting of the National Assembly on 22^nd December, 2015.

However, the government announced yesterday that it had mapped out 34 strategic priority programmes and projects it intended to achieve with the 2016 budget.

These include a capital spend minimum of 30% annually, an appropriate and predictable exchange regime by the end of 2016, increased low interest lending rate of 9%, self-sufficiency in tomato paste in 2016 and rice production by 2018.

It also plans to increase local production of maize, soya beans, poultry and livestock and to stop import.