Business, Politics

Senate Suspend Plenary for Two Weeks from January 14; See Reasons

Published by Tope Fakinlede on January 7th, 2025.

Senate Suspend Plenary for Two Weeks from January 14; See Reasons

The Senate has announced that it will suspend plenary sessions for two weeks starting January 14 as part of efforts to prioritize the consideration of the 2025 budget. This follows the commencement of budget deliberations at the committee level on January 7.

Additionally, the Senate has scheduled an open day for this Thursday, allowing various stakeholders—including leaders from ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs)—to provide input on the proposed budget.

Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, made the announcement during a meeting with other Senate committee chairs. He also noted that the tentative date for the presentation of reports on the 2025 Appropriation Bill to both the Senate and the House of Representatives is set for January 31, 2025.

During the meeting, which was attended by key Senate officials, including Deputy Leader Senator Lola Ashiru (APC, Kwara South) and Senate Whip Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), it was acknowledged that while the timeline for considering and passing the 2025 budget is tight, every effort will be made to ensure its thorough review.

Before meeting with the committee chairs, the Appropriations Committee had spent several hours discussing the most effective approach for reviewing the budget, which was presented by President Bola Tinubu on December 18, 2024, and passed for a second reading by both chambers of the National Assembly the following day.

To expedite the process, hard copies of the budget proposals have been distributed to committee chairs, providing them with essential reference materials for the budget defense sessions with heads of MDAs.

The proposed schedule for committee-level consideration includes budget defense sessions starting on January 9, with reports from the various committees expected between January 15 and 18. The Appropriations Committee will then consolidate the reports, with the aim of presenting the final budget report to the Senate on January 31. However, Senator Adeola clarified that the January 31 date is tentative, serving as a guideline for the work ahead.

Following the meeting, the Senate Appropriations Committee entered a closed-door session with the committee chairs to further refine the process.