Strong indications have emerged that the National Assembly may pass the proposed N49.7 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill this week.
The Nation also reports that the Senate and House of Representatives joint Committees on Appropriation are expected to lay their reports tomorrow (Tuesday), barring any last-minute hitch.
Although both chambers had initially scheduled to pass the budget last Friday, January 31, 2025, the date was shifted to allow standing committees to complete their budget defence process undertaken by heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
Both chambers are also expected to adjourn plenary in honor of the late Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Oriyomi Adewunmi Onanuga, upon resumption on Tuesday.
But the Appropriations Committees are expected to submit their report to the committee of the whole for further consideration.
Speaking to The Nation in Abuja, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, confirmed that the budget would likely be passed this week depending on the content of the report expected to be presented by the National Assembly Committees on Appropriations before the respective chambers.
He said, “You know we are reconvening on the 4th which is Tuesday. So when we convene, we will be expecting the reports.
“So issues that the reports would generate will determine the day the budget will be passed.
Responding to a question, the Senate spokesman said: “It’s not going to be a graveyard silence. The report would be laid on the floor and then we will ask questions from the Committee on Appropriation and the Committee on Finance.
“Thereafter the Senate would seek the concurrence of the House of Representatives and then the transmission to the presidency for assent. So, the Senate is expecting the report of the Committee on Appropriation on Tuesday.
“Immediately, it will be committed to the Committee of the Whole chamber whereby we pick the budget clause by clause, almost line by line.”
When asked if the budget would be passed this week, Adaramodu said: “We may likely pass it but it depends on so many variables, like the report of the Appropriations Committee and then the exhaustive debate that we will have on the budget report thereafter.
“We want to do this budget thoroughly so that we will not be going back and forth on all these supplementary. We want to be thorough. We want to be thorough with it.”
Responding to a question on whether there is likely going to be an increase in the total budget sum presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu in December 2024, in view of several requests made by some MDAs for their allocations to be increased, Adaramodu said that would depend on the recommendations the Appropriations Committees would make to both chambers in their report.
He said: “Even if the budget is N100 trillion agencies would still ask for further increase but when we look at the merit of it, then as submitted in the report of the Appropriation Committee and that of Finance, you know even when we are dealing with the budget we have to be mindful of the revenue to be generated by the Federal Government.”
