Presidency, Ministry not on same page over Finance Act’s implementation

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had stated that though there might be records and administrative processes involved, once the Finance Act was signed, there are no preconditions for the implementation of the law.

“The Finance Act, having been signed into law by the President, has taken effect automatically. There is no other formal process needed. The law is in effect.  There can be records and administrative processes involved, but they are not preconditions for the law to take effect. It has taken effect,” Shehu said.

On the other hand, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the date for the implementation of the law would be communicated at a later date, adding that the monies raised from the increased VAT would be shared among the states and local government areas

“On the implementation process of the law, I will issue a statement in due course,” Zainab said.

When asked about the implementation date for the Finance Act, Yunusa Abdullahi, Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Finance, said the ministry had yet received the signed version of the Finance Act.

“We will need to hold on a bit because the minister will have to look at the details of what the President has signed and then we will have a formal announcement on it.

“It was just signed on Monday and the minister will need to get a clean copy. And when we have a clean copy, then that decision (of implementation) will be taken. We are still waiting for the clean copy,” he said.