The National Assembly will pass the much awaited 2018 Budget next week, the House of Representatives disclosed on Thursday, May 4, 2018.
Abdulrazak Namdas, the chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, made this known while briefing journalists in Abuja.
Namdas said the budget will be laid for consideration by the House Appropriation Committee on May 8 and will be eventually passed into law same week.
He said, “Hopefully, we want to pass the budget next week. The budget is a voluminous document but l can authoritatively confirm that we will pass it. “We’ll lay it on Tuesday. We’re working very hard and within that same week or by this time next week, we will pass it.”
The lawmaker explained that the House opted not to embark on its planned three-day break in protest against the killings in various parts of the country and the general state of insecurity because it wants to pass the budget first.
He said, “We can’t go on the three-day break when such an important issue like the budget is pending. “We’ll surely observe the three-day break as a sign of our protest against the killings, but we won’t do it to jeopardise the national interest.”
He revealed that when and how the protest would be observed would be determined by the House leadership. Furthermore, he stated that the letter inviting President Muhammadu Buhari to brief the House on the state of the nation’s security following the unending killings is being handled by the management of the National Assembly.
“Once the House took the decision to invite the president and passed the resolution, it ends there.
“The onus now lies with the National Assembly management as represented in the person of the clerk to the National Assembly to communicate to the Presidency,” he added.
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