By Ismaila Chafe
#TrackNigeria – President Muhammadu Buhari says he looks forward to a mutual working relationship with the ninth National Assembly towards improving the budgetary process and restoring the country to the January-December fiscal cycle.
This was disclosed in a statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Monday.
Shehu quoted Buhari as saying this when he received his old schoolmates, who came to congratulate him on his re-election for a second term, at his residence in Daura, Katsina State.
The president recounted how the delay in the passage of budgets hindered timely execution of projects across the country.
He, however, expressed the hope that with the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential election and majority seats in the ninth assembly, the efficiency of the process.
He also told his classmates in the 1953 set of Katsina Middle School, Daura, led by Sen. Abba Ali, that it was on record that the proposed 2018 budget submitted to the National Assembly on Nov. 7, 2017, was passed after seven months.
Notwithstanding the challenges, he assured his classmates that the Executive arm of government, under his watch, would strive towards effective implementation of national budgets, while promoting transparency and accountability.
He thanked his old school colleagues for the ‘reunion’, and commended their interest and useful suggestions on advancing Nigeria’s prosperity and stability.
In his remarks, Sen. Ali, while congratulating the president on his re-election, said majority of Nigerians believed in his purposeful leadership and resoundingly renewed his mandate.
He wished the president more success in his second-term, noting that “The country will benefit more when the executive and legislative branches of government work in unison on national interests.’’ (NAN)
