The Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation in Nigeria has announced its intention to pass the 2024 appropriation bill before the end of the week. The committee has given a 48-hour deadline to all sub-committees to submit their reports on the budget. This move is part of an effort to ensure that President Bola Tinubu signs the N27.5 trillion appropriation bill into law before the end of December.
Senator Solomon Adeola, Chairman of the appropriation committee, urged all sub-committees to adhere to the deadline, emphasizing the importance of meeting the January-December budget cycle. He stated that any committee failing to submit its report by the specified date would be assumed to grant the committee the authority to treat its budget independently.
Adeola expressed the committee’s readiness to receive reports and hoped that the budget would be passed when the National Assembly resumes plenary on December 20. He highlighted the tradition of passing the budget into law by December 31 of each year and emphasized the need for the 10th Senate to adhere to this practice.
Sub-committee reports submitted on Monday raised concerns about Nigerians trapped in Ethiopian prisons and the allocation of N5 billion in the budget to revamp the Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River State. The lawmakers discussed issues related to the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and pledged to review the report to address funding challenges faced by NIDCOM in handling the situation of Nigerians in foreign prisons. Additionally, the committee would investigate the allocation of N5 billion to the Obudu Cattle Ranch to ensure transparency and fair distribution of funds.
The National Assembly’s commitment to passing the budget before the end of the year aligns with efforts to maintain a timely and effective budgetary process in Nigeria.
