Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2018 appropriation bill containing budget estimates as approved by the National Assembly into law.
This was even as he has raised concerns about the National Assembly tinkering with the budget of major projects, announcing that he will send supplementary budget soon.
He signed the budget at about 12 noon on Wednesday inside his office at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The National Assembly up the budget to N9.1 trillion from the N8.6 trillion estimates the President submitted to the Assembly on November 7, 2017.
The two chambers of the National Assembly passed the budget on May 16, six months after it was presented by the president.
The Assembly raised the total figure by N500 million.
They also increased the oil benchmark proposed by the executive from $45 to $51 per barrel.
The Assembly however, retained oil production volume proposed at 2.3 million barrels per day and an exchange rate at N305 to $1.
The budget as passed by the two chambers also has N530,421,368,624 as statutory transfer; N2,203,835,365,699 for debt service; N1,954,464,993,775 as fiscal deficit.
The passed budget was transmitted to the presidency for assent on May 25 through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate), Ita Enang.
Mr Enang on Wednesday took copies of the budget to the office of the president at about 11:35pm.
The budget signing ceremony was witnessed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Senator Ibn N’alla, who represented Senate President Bukola Saraki; and Honorable Ado Doguwa. Who represented Speaker Yakubu Dogara.