Notwithstanding last-minute changes, the Green Chamber will conclude consideration of the N49.74 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill by January 31st this year.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Mr. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, dropped the hint in the wake of the inaugural meeting of the committee on Monday, held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.
The Kano-born lawmaker uncovered that the House committees will begin the 2025 budget defence session with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) on Tuesday, adding that reports from the exercise are supposed to be harmonized on January 22.
Bichi made sense of the fact that the budget defence with MDAs will last until January 17, and reports from the exercise may be harmonized on January 22, while the Appropriations Committee’s report would be laid at plenary on January 31st.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had presented the N49.74 trillion 2025 Budget (Appropriation Bill) before a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2024.
The House passed the budget through second reading on December 19, 2024, and referred it to the Appropriations Committee, with all Standing Committees as subcommittees for additional legislative action.
Bichi guaranteed that the panel and standing committees will be careful with the budget defence in the interest of Nigerians.
He noted: “We just had the inauguration meeting today for the 2025 Appropriation Bill, which you have been aware that the President has presented the budget to us, and by tomorrow, we will start the budget defense with all the MDAs. From tomorrow to the 17th, we are going to do our budget defence, and we will likely harmonize on the 22nd, and, God willing, by the 31st, we are going to lay our reports.
“We are going to study the budget; all our committees will study the budget. I believe the budget is for Nigerians, for our development, infrastructure and other important things, and I am sure Nigerians will be happy with it.
“We just had an inauguration meeting today for the 2025 appropriation bills, which you have been aware that the President has presented the budget to us, and by tomorrow, we’ll start the budget defence with all the MDAs. From tomorrow to the 17th, we are going to do our budget defence, and we will likely harmonize by the 22nd.
“But what we do first, we complete our reports. Now we are going to study the budget, all our committees will study the budget, and I believe the budget is for Nigerians. It’s for development, infrastructures, and other important things, and I’m sure Nigerians will be happy with it.”
