Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters

File Photo The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Umar El-Yakub, has said the decision of the Presidency to increase the 2020 Budget despite drop in revenue was meant to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s economy. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday signed the Appropriation (Repeal and Amendment) Act, 2020 into law. The revised budget provides for aggregate expenditure of N10.81trn, which is an increase of N216bn over the level of expenditure initially proposed in the 2020 Appropriation Act. El-Yakub, in an interview with State House correspondents, attributed the increase to the government’s decision to prioritise infrastructure projects that would reflate the economy. He said, “One needs to und...