All subcommittees have been given a 48-hour deadline by the Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriations to turn in their reports on the 2024 budget.
This is in preparation for the N27.5 trillion budget being approved by the end of this month, as stated by Sen. Solomon Olamilekan, one of the committee’s co-chairmen.
On Monday, subcommittees commenced presenting their reports to the joint committee located in Abuja.
Sen. Victor Umeh led the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations and Sen. Ireti Kingibe led the Committee on Tourism in submitting their reports on Monday.
Olamilekan gave the opening remarks at the beginning of the meeting, urging all the subcommittees to adhere to the deadline in order to guarantee that the National Assembly would meet the budget cycle that runs from January to December.
“I am pleading with all my colleagues to please, I am ready, and the deadline is this Wednesday for all reports, all standing committees of the senate to receive,” he stated.
“By Wednesday, any committee or agency that has not yet sent in a report to the committee has presumed that you are granting us the omnibus authority to proceed with handling your budget without consulting that committee.
Therefore, we are pleading with all committee chairs to kindly turn in their reports by this Wednesday at the latest.
According to information obtained by the Nigerian Tribune, there was a good chance that the Senate and the House of Representatives will approve the budget on Thursday.
The publication was informed by sources that the MPs would meet again in plenary on December 20, get the budget reports, and then pass the budget the following day, on Thursday.
“On Thursday, the Christmas and New Year’s holidays will begin. Given that December 25th is Christmas Day, senators will probably approve the budget on Thursday and adjourn for the year, allowing Mr. President to sign it before December 31st, according to one of the parliamentary sources who provided information.
Another official, though, stated that a lot would rely on whether or not all of the reports were cleared up by Thursday.
Even the committee on appropriations is unable to provide you with a specific stance at this time due to the ambiguity.
“To pass the budget, the National Assembly may adjourn on Thursday and meet again on December 28.
According to the source, “Such scenarios are not impossible with lawmakers.”
Two items drew members’ attention from the subcommittee reports delivered on Monday: the N5 billion budget proposal to renovate the Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River State, and the situation of 136 Nigerians imprisoned in Ethiopia.
Upon submitting his report, Umeh stated that a few of the 136 Nigerians incarcerated for different offences had requested to be moved back to Nigeria to complete their sentences.
But he informed the committee that inadequate finance has left the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), which is in charge of their case, disadvantaged.
For example, according to Umeh, the commission was allotted a N1.2 billion budget for 2024, of which N652.9 million was designated for capital expenses.
However, Umeh claimed that in light of NIDCOM’s workload, his committee had suggested N4.9 billion for the agency’s capital budget.
Umeh clarified that this would cover five additional line items that had been added to the budget, such as resolving the predicament of Nigerians incarcerated, setting up summits for the diaspora, and other initiatives to synchronise the lives of Nigerians residing abroad.
Olamilekan responded by saying that the appropriations committee would study the report and figure out how to support NIDCOM’s budget, “taking into consideration the very important work they have been doing.”
“We will pay attention to NIDCOM in our reporting stage,” he continued. We will prioritise them after reviewing the five new lines, though.
Sen. Kingibe, for her part, informed the committee that the Obudu Cattle Ranch was allocated more than N5 billion of the N7.9 billion that was suggested as the Ministry of Tourism’s capital budget.
She stated that she did not think it appropriate for one geopolitical zone to have more than half of the agency’s capital vote at the expense of other zones.
In response, the committee said that although she raised valid points, members will look into the allocation of the N5 billion to ensure that money would truly go towards restoring the Obudu property.
We shall look into the rationale behind allocating this N5 billion to a single geopolitical region.
However, we also need to acknowledge that, even with this funding for tourism, we are still not there.
Olamilekan declared, “If we really want to drive tourism in this country, we have to do more.”
