The Federal Ministry for Budget and National Planning has cleared the air over media reports purporting that Minister of Budget & National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma blamed the National Assembly over the delay in presentation of the 2019 budget.
In statement signed by the Special Adviser Media & Communications, Mr. Akpandem James, the Ministry quoted the Minister simply as saying that “as is the procedure when the budget is ready, the Executive liaises with the National Assembly for a date which the Budget will be laid before the joint session of the Assembly; and that the process is on already” the statement said.
It decried the headlines in some news media in respect of the presentation of the 2019 Budget to the National Assembly, noting that it is obvious that some of the reporters misconstrued the response of the Minister of Budget and National Planning, when he was asked when the budget would be submitted to the legislature.
James said that the Minister at no time throughout the interaction with the media blamed the National Assembly for the delay in the presentation, nor gave the impression that there was any issue between the two arms of government over the 2019 budget.
