The Senate is ready to finally pass the N8.612 trillion 2018 budget on April 24, 2018, after a long delay as Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, has ordered the Appropriation Committee to tidy up pending reports from all committees latest by Friday, April 13, 2018, for final submission to the Upper chamber next week.
The Senate has of late been receiving bashing from different segments of the Nigerian public over delay in passing the 2018 Budget, while it resolved just last week to take steps towards redeeming its pubic image.
Since December 2017, different committees of the Senate have been working on the Budget, meeting with heads of ministries and agencies which defended their budgets, after a presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 7, 2017.
Saraki, during Tuesday’s brief Plenary, said: “The chairman appropriation committee should please ensure that by Friday this week, collections of reports from various committees’ ends.
“There should be no more extension for that purpose because the appropriation committee itself, must submit its report to the Senate unfailingly next week”.
Earlier, Danjuma Goje, a Senator representing Gombe Central, who is also the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, had made an announcement on the floor of the Senate via a letter on the extension of time for submission of reports by the various committees to Friday.
The two chambers of the National Assembly had before embarking on the Easter break on Thursday, March 29, 2018, fixed April 24, 2018, for passage of the budget.
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