Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber, the Senate has suspended its plenary sessions for two weeks effective from January 14, 2025, to facilitate its committee-level reviews of the proposed N49.7 trillion budget for 2025.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Sen. Olamilekan Adeola, who made this disclosure during a meeting with the committee members on Monday, hinted that public hearing on the Appropriation Bill had been scheduled to hold on Thursday this week, during which presentations from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) would be considered.
In addition, the lawmaker said that January 31 had been set as the provisional date for the presentation of committee reports on the 2025 Appropriation Bill before both chambers of the National Assembly.
The Chairman further clarified: “Following the presentation of the 2025 budget by President Bola Tinubu on December 18, 2024, and its subsequent second reading in both chambers on December 19, hard copies of the proposals have been distributed to committee chairmen as reference documents for the budget defense sessions.”
He explained that the “31st of January is a tentative date meant to guide our work”, harping on the benefits of not rushing the passage of the Appropriation Bill by ensuring its thorough scrutiny in view of the implications for national development.
