Senate steps down budget report presentation

The Nigeria Senate has stepped down presentation of the report of the senate committee on appropriations on the 2017 budget listed on its order paper.

At plenary on Thursday, Ahmed Lawan, majority leader of the senate, said the upper legislative chamber will receive the report on Tuesday.

He said this after the senate’s joint committees of appropriation and finance, chaired by Danjuma Goje and John Enoh respectively failed to present the document.

Lawan said he had been informed that the joint committees were meeting with their counterparts in the house of representatives to harmonise the report.

“They are meeting with the house committee on appropriation to cross the Ts and dot the Is of the 2017 budget by harmonising and I have also been informed that by the grace of God, the budget 2017 will be laid on Tuesday,” the senate leader said.

“Having said this, distinguished colleagues, I will move that we stand down the presentation of this report to Tuesday the next legislative day.”

Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, said the senate and the house were putting final touches to the report so that the national assembly could transmit the same document to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

Buhari sent the budget to the national assembly in December.