2020 budget passage suffers setback

The consideration and passage of the 2020 budget have been extended by a week.

This was made known on Tuesday after the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Barau Jubril, requested more time to present the final report.

The Senate initially planned to pass the budget on November 28. This means that the Appropriation committee should present the report on Tuesday or Wednesday.

But raising a point of order, Mr Jubril said the committee has collated all the reports of the subcommittees and have so far analysed the reports.

“We have been having sleepless nights, we have been able to put everything together with our team of experts. What remains now is to crosscheck and make sure there is no mistake. Crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is,” he said.

“Thereafter, we will now go to print because we want to submit all the details. What remains now, it will take us up to Sunday, so by Monday, we should be able to have all the clear details and then we lay on Tuesday. I just said I should inform you.”

In his response the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said an additional week will be given to the committee to finalise legislative work.

“I am sure you are working with the House Committee on Appropriations. The Senate will give you an additional week and that is unfailing, Tuesday should be on 3rd of December, 2019. By the grace of God, you should be able to lay it here and the Senate should pass it within that week.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had on October 8 presented the bill to a joint session of the National Assembly. He proposed N10.33 trillion for national spending for the year 2020.

Lawmakers of both chambers, thereafter, deliberated on the provisions of the budget in separate plenary sessions. While some hailed the president’s propositions, others had one or two issues with some aspects of the bill.

The budget was, thereafter, referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriation which spread the budget across the committees who held budget defence sessions with MDAs to defend their budgets.

Having concluded the budget defence sessions, the various committees will submit their reports to the Appropriations Committee – which will then produce a general report before the bill is passed.