The spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Abdulrazak Namdas, on Sunday, absolved the National Assembly of any fault in the 2016 budget crisis, saying that the crisis arose because President Muhammadu Buhari was yet to see sufficient reason to sign the bill.

Speaking on Channels Television, the House spokesperson disclosed that the National Assembly will deliberate on the budget this week and hopefully resolve the crisis for the sake of Nigerians.

Namdas further stated that the leadership of the National Assembly will be meeting with the President to seek ways to end the standoff on the budget.

“The principal officers of the two chambers have met over the document and they have also resolved to meet with the President so that together they can examine the grey areas and the interest of the President.”

“Then we will come back to the chamber, reexamine the document this week and I believe that all these issues will be resolved amicably.”

Speaking on the grey areas highlighted by the presidency when the budget was returned to the legislators, Namdas stated that: “Don’t forget that this budget has already been passed. If the President had assented to the budget we would not have been at this level.”

“But because we are of the same government; an arm of government and we are interested in Nigerians getting what they want, since the principal officers have agreed to meet with the President, it will not be fair for us to discuss matters before meeting the President on the grey areas.”

“We will plead with Nigerians, for all this while that we have been patient, lets kindly wait. By the time we meet with the President, this thing will be made known.”

On the thorny issue of the Lagos-Calabar project, the House spokesman said: “We have not in any case removed the railway project. It is a document that was brought to us by Mr President. It is not in the first document and it is not in the amended version.”

“But if it is among the grey areas the President wants us to talk about, we have assured Nigerians that it is a very nice project and we will take it.”

He also said that the House had carried out its duty by carefully examining the budget.

“All 360 of us have copies of this budget and there is no way a document would escape the first reading (and) escape the second reading only for us to find it at the committee level and (it is expected) of us to make use of it; that is not always the case.”

Mazi Emeka