President Muhammadu Buhari
• Seeks quick reform of budgeting process for transparency
• President leaves for D-8 summit in Istanbul, to visit Ankara
President Muhammadu Buhari has submitted the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF-FSP) to the House of Representatives in a bid to ensure the timely passage of the 2018 budget.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara read the correspondence from the President dated October 9, 2017 during the plenary session of the House yesterday.The President, in the correspondence, said that the decision to submit the MTEF-FSP was in line with the provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
In another vein, Buhari has expressed his desire to have the national budgeting process thoroughly reformed in a manner that will promote accountability, transparency and professionalism.
The President, who spoke in Abuja at the summit on inter-governmental/inter-party relations and the budget reform process for sustainable development in Nigeria, organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), represented by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said that meaningful development could only be guaranteed in Nigeria when credibility is introduced to the budgeting process.
He acknowledged that conflicts between the legislative and executive arms of government were normal in a democracy setting.Meanwhile, Buhari will today depart for Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in the ninth summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) on Friday, October 20, 2017.
Besides, prior to the summit, Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, will pay an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city.A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, yesterday stated that while in Ankara, the President will have a tete-a-tete with his Turkish counterpart and delegations from both countries will hold discussions in various fields, including defence, co-operation, security, educational and migration issues.
The Nigerian leader will also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara where he will meet with the Speaker, Ismail Kahraman.While in Istanbul, the Turkish commercial centre, President Buhari will use the occasion of the summit to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of co-operation with leaders of the D-8-member-countries, namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.
The summit, with the theme ‘’Expanding Opportunities through Co-operation’’, will, among other things, focus on co-operation in areas of agriculture, trade, transport, energy and increased private sector participation among member-countries.
Also during the summit, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of the organisation established to improve the developing countries’ positions in the world economy, the President will highlight the significant show of confidence in Nigeria’s business environment and economy.
He will also affirm Nigeria’s resolve to work with D-8 member-countries on many key areas, including peace and security, economy and trade.“Buhari is expected to be accompanied on the trip by ministers, top government officials, including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali,” the statement said.
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