Abbas said the budget defense will be carried out jointly by the Senate and the House.
The House of Representatives will suspend plenary for two weeks to allow for defense of the 2024 budget by Ministries, Agencies, and Departments of Government.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, had announced that the Green Chamber will sit tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday to debate the 2024 budget due to the urgency of the task.
The decision was arrived at plenary on Wednesday, following the presentation of the 2024 budget by the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Abbas also said the defense will commence Monday next week, adding that, “the budget defense will be carried out jointly by the Senate and House of Representatives to balance it 50-50.”
Earlier, Abbas, while delivering his vote of thanks during the budget presentation, urged lawmakers to consider the budget as a crucial step to addressing the suffering of citizens across the country.
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He said, “Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the People’s House, we must proceed with the huge task ahead. The next couple of weeks will be tough and demanding for us. But I do not doubt our capacity to effectively and speedily discharge our constitutional mandate. We must ensure that the budget, when finally passed, meets the expectations of the people we represent. We must equally follow through the implementation process through our various oversight engagements.”
The Speaker also implored his colleagues not to “view the budget as a mere financial document but a reflection of our collective resolve to address the most critical needs of our long-suffering citizens.
“In order to promote economic growth and development, the 2024 Budget should prioritise social welfare programmes to help reduce poverty and inequality. Equally important is job creation and youth empowerment in view of the large and ever-growing youth population. Failure to do this means failure to invest in our future.”
Similarly, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, harped on the need to ensure that the budget reflects the need and interest of Nigerians.
“It is our duty to ensure that the budget reflects transparency and accountability .We have seen some economic reforms by removing the fuel subsidy. These bold steps have brought about some economic discomfort. We hope these budgetary provisions will ameliorate the pains of our dear citizens “
