Senators Put Under Pressure By Tinubu Presidency To Pass 2024 Budget Without Scrutiny –Source

Despite reports indicating that the National Assembly would pass the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N27.5tn on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, senators are yet to get a copy of the budget for scrutiny, SaharaReporters has reliably gathered.
It was earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday presented to a joint session of the National Assembly the 2024 Budget, which he christened, ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’.

However, last Friday both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the budget for a second reading.

Speaking during the plenary session, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, hinted that the budget might be passed by the lawmakers on December 19 before embarking on their Christmas and New Year break.

Despite senators applauding President Bola Tinubu for his good intentions for the country, however, many of them decried the failure of the executive to provide the details of the budget.

The budget was passed for a second reading and referred to the Committee on Appropriations after being put to a voice vote by Barau, who presided over the session.

“The budget is hereby referred to the Committee on Appropriations and the committee is mandated to submit the report to this chamber on December 19,” Barau stated.

On Tuesday the budget was referred to the Committee on Appropriation, copies of the budget had not been made available to senators for adequate scrutiny.

The source told states that the senators were being put under pressure by the presidency to pass the budget even though details had not been made available.

“The National Assembly is expected to pass the budget before 31 December. But till now, the senators don’t have a copy of the budget for scrutiny. They are under pressure to pass the budget even without details available,” a Senator shared

The Senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, asked how the senators were expected to pass a national budget without having the necessary details.

“We don’t know whether so many things are padded in the budget. Making a copy of the budget available to senators would allow them to look into all the sectors and make informed contributions during the debate. It will even afford us the opportunity to know how it affects different senatorial districts,” the senator added.