The National Assembly is expected to pass the ₦49.7 trillion federal budget this week, provided there are no unforeseen delays.
The joint Committees on Appropriation from the Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to present their reports when plenary resumes tomorrow.
Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, hinted during a press briefing in Abuja that the budget passage is likely this week.
He emphasized that once the report is submitted, lawmakers will meticulously review the budget on a clause-by-clause basis.
“You know we are reconvening on the 4th, which is Tuesday. So when we convene, we will be expecting the reports. Issues generated by the reports will determine the day the budget will be passed,” Adaramodu stated.
He explained that after the report is laid, members will scrutinize the budget and seek concurrence from the House of Representatives before transmitting it to the presidency for final assent.
“It’s not going to be a graveyard silence. The report will be laid on the floor, and then we will ask questions from the Committee on Appropriation and the Committee on Finance,” Adaramodu said.
The Senate spokesperson underscored the need for a thorough review to avoid future supplementary budget requests.
“We want to be thorough so that we will not be going back and forth on all these supplementary budgets,” he assured.
When asked whether the budget figure might increase from the initial ₦49.7 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu in December 2024,
Adaramodu stated that requests from Ministries and Agencies would be evaluated against available government revenue.
“Even if the budget is ₦100 trillion, agencies would still ask for further increases. But when we look at the merit of it, and as submitted in the report of the Appropriation and Finance Committees, we must remain mindful of the federal government’s revenue generation capacity,” he emphasized.