FINALLY, The long awaited 2016 "Budget of Change" has been signed into law after months of wrangling.

“The budget is intended to signpost a renewal of our commitment to restoring the budget as a serious article of faith with the Nigerian people. This Administration is committed to ensuring that henceforth the annual appropriation bill is presented to the National Assembly in time for the passage of the Act before the beginning of the fiscal year.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/buhari-signs-n6-06trn-2016-budget-change/

Hopes of desperate Nigerians reawaken as President Muhammadu Buhari finally signs 2016 Budget tagged “Budget of Change” into law, making it effectively an Act of the National Assembly.

The N6.06 trillion 2016 budget was signed yesterday, Friday, ending weeks of disagreement with the National Assembly, against the 6.08tn-naira ($30.6bn; £21bn) which he declined approval amid claims of mismanagement and kickbacks among the officials who drew it up.

The National Assembly passed the budget on March 23, but the president withheld his assent and returned the document.

The Presidency said the lawmakers added new projects and removed critical items proposed by the administration.

The two arms reconciled controversial figures, and transmitted a clean copy of the budget to the president on Thursday.

The budget triples capital expenditure in Nigeria.

Some 34 projects will get extra spending to help revive the economy, including improvements to power, health, and transport.

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Speaking at the ceremony, the President said "It is a great pleasure to sign the budget. It is a serious article of faith for the Nigerian people”. The budget is intended to signpost a renewal of our commitment to restoring the budget as a serous article of faith with the Nigerian people. This administration is committed to ensuring that henceforth the appropriation bill is presented to the National Assembly in time for the passage of the Act before the beginning of the fiscal year.

"The signing of the budget today will trigger concerted efforts to reflate the Nigerian economy, a key element of which is an immediate injection of 350bn naira into the economy by way of capital projects."To illustrate our commitment to infrastructural development, The 2016 budget allocates over N200bn to road construction as against a paltry N18bn allocated for same in the 2015 budget.

The table below presents highlights of the budget as passed by the National Assembly.

Items	Allocation
Aggregate expenditure	N6, 060,677,358,227
Statutory transfers	N351, 370,000,000
Debt service	N1, 475,320,000,000
Recurrent expenditure	N2, 646,389,236,196
Capital expenditure	N1, 587,598,122,031
Fiscal deficit	N2,204,936,925,711.16

• Deficit/GDP: 2.14 per cent
• The parameters proposed by Mr. Buhari were retained.
• Oil price benchmark and crude oil production were left at US38 per barrel and 2.2mbpd respectively.
• Similarly, the exchange was left at N197/USD1.

The long awaited CHANGE may just be around the corner. Lets Hope and Pray!!!
Source: BBC News, Vanguard E-News