The Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West), has disclosed that January 31st is the tentative date for the passage of the N49.7 trillion budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
He spoke yesterday during a meeting with chairmen of various standing committees of the Senate in Abuja.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had presented the N49.7 trillion Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2024, and asked the lawmakers to pass it expeditiously.
The bill has already scaled second reading in both chambers of the National Assembly.
Senator Adeola said January 31 is the date for laying of reports on the 2025 Appropriation Bill before the Senate and the House of Representatives.
At the meeting attended by many chairmen of senate standing committees and principal officers, Ademola said the timeframe for consideration and passage of the budget by the National Assembly is short, but that the best must be done.
He announced that budget defence by MDAs would commence today while reports from various committees are expected to be submitted from 15th to 18th of January.
Senator Adeola said, “Afterwards, collation and tidying up of the various reports will be done by the appropriations committee with the hope of laying final report on the budget to the Senate on 31st of this month.
“However, the 31st of January fixed for laying of the budget is tentative as it is just given to guide our working.”
Similarly, the House of Representatives will commence the 2025 budget defence session with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) today, Tuesday, January 7.
The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Abubakar Kabir Abubakar Bichi, stated this while speaking to journalists after an inaugural meeting with chairmen of the various committees of the House on Monday.
He said that reports from the budget defence exercise by the committees would hopefully be harmonised on January 22 while the Appropriations Committee would lay its report before the House on January 31st.