Debate on the 2024 budget presented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly on Wednesday, has commenced in the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives has began debate on the N27.5 trillion budget proposed by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday.
Opening the debate, the Leader of the House, Julius Ihonvbere, observed that the 2024 budget focused on education, security, and infrastructure development, among other key priorities.
He described the budget as a proof of President Tinubu’s dedication to the development of the country.
Ihonvere said: “The budget focused on education with emphasis on basic education, and security. This budget also focuses on fiscal responsibility, reforms and removing the bottleneck in the civil service. This is a budget of renewed hope, as noted by the president.
“The budget drew our attention to the renewed hope agenda so that we have a holistic understanding of where the president is coming from and (wants) to take us to.”
In his contribution to the debate, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno), highlighted the need to pay attention to capital projects and diversification of the economy, saying the Nigeria economy is overly dependent on crude oil exports.
“Contribution to the capital project is very important, it shows that the government is dedicated to the infrastructural development in the country,” Jaha also said and urged lawmakers to prioritise security while scrutinising the budget.
“The clauses in this budget can only be realised if we have absolute security in the country. All these developmental issues can not be addressed if insecurity continues to thrive,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) urged the lawmakers to work with a sense of urgency, but also scrutinise the budget to ensure that the goal of the president is actualised.
“The president is a man that keeps to his word. This is why he articulated and packaged his campaigns in the budget. Here, our work can make or mar the budget of the president. Looking at the content, one will see that there’s a deviation from the previous years,” he said and asked lawmakers to “provide serious oversight to ensure that all MDAs carry out their duties as expected.”
“If you don’t provide adequate oversight, regardless of how beautiful this budget is, we won’t get the desired result,” Gagdi stressed.
Also speaking, Ali Isah (PDP, Gombe), said the Committee on Appropriation, and its sub-committees working on the 2024 budget should analyse the budget with fairness to all MDAs are adequately catered for.
The debate continues today (Friday).
