The Senate on Monday said it would suspend plenary for two weeks immediately the National Assembly resumes from its current yuletide celebrations on January 14.
It explained that this would enable the Appropriation sub-committees of both chambers to begin consideration of the N49.7 trillion 2025 budget.
The Red Chamber also tentatively fixed January 31, 2025, as a possible date to lay the report of the Appropriation Committee for passage the same day.
It fixed Thursday this week, as an open day on the proposed budget consideration.
It hinted that stakeholders in the polity, apart from heads of the various ministries, departments and agencies, would have the opportunity to make inputs.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola, stated these when his panel met with chairmen of other standing committees in the Senate.
He added that January 31, 2025, had been tentatively fixed as the date for laying and passing of the reports of the 2025 Appropriation bill separately before the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The meeting was attended by chairmen of the Senate’s Standing Committees and Principal officers of the upper chamber.
Adeola said the time frame for the consideration and passage of the 2025 budget by the National Assembly was short but assured Nigerians that the best would be made out of it.
He said, “Before this meeting with chairmen of the various standing committees in the Senate, the Appropriation Committee met for several hours on the best way to handle the consideration of the 2025 budget.”
The appropriation bill was presented to the National Assembly on December 18, 2024, by President Bola Tinubu.
It was passed for a second reading by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday, December 19, 2024.
Adeola, at Monday’s meeting explained: “For expeditious and thorough consideration, hard copies of the budget proposals were obtained and already distributed to chairmen of the various committees.
“It would serve as reference documents during budget defence sessions with heads of MDAs.
“The tentative time table that has been drawn for consideration of the budget at committee level is that budget defence sessions begin from Tuesday.
“Reports from various committees are expected to be submitted from 15th to 18th of this month.
“Afterwards, collation and tidying up of the various reports will be done by the appropriation committee with the hope of laying final report on the budget to the Senate on 31st of this month.
“However, the 31st of January fixed for laying of the budget is tentative as it is just given to guide our working.”
The committee thereafter went into a closed session with chairmen of the various standing committees in the Senate.
Sunday Aborisade
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