On Tuesday,
December 5, 2017, the 8th Senate passed the Second Reading of the 2018
Appropriation Bill. The Bill has been forwarded to the Committee on
Appropriations
and its various sub-committees for further consideration and
budget defence by the various ministries, departments and agencies of the
Federal Government.
Speaking on
the passage of the Second Reading of the Budget, the President of the Senate,
Bukola Saraki said: “We know that the timetable is very tight. We will
be suspending plenary for us to be able to start the defense of this budget.
Committee Chairmen and Members should please ensure that we keep to this
timetable. Let me respond with a general note of warning to all Heads of MDAs
to ensure that they strictly respect the letters of invitation and the
timetable. This is not time for excuses for Ministers or Heads of parastatals
to be traveling and not be able to attend their budget defense. We do not have
the time. This is a very short timeframe, therefore, I expect all MDAs to be
able to respect our invitation and be there on time so that the Committees can
wrap up and be able to present their reports by the time we come back on
Tuesday, the 19th of December”.
The
President of the Senate also announced that the Senate will be having a public
hearing on the budget. “Distinguished Colleagues, let me also thank you
for what you have contributed to this process. I know that we have a lot of
work ahead of us. “There will be a Public hearing on the Budget. We are
looking at Monday, the 11th of December, however, in the next few days, an
announcement will be made – we expect attendance by all Senators.”
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