The Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives are to hold emergency sessions to discuss the extension of the implementation period for the capital component of the ₦21.83 trillion 2023 budget and the ₦2.17 trillion 2023 Supplementary Budget.
On the strength of requests made by President Bola Tinubu to both Chambers in March this year, both the Senate and the House of Representatives further extended the implementation period for the budgetary appropriations from March 31, 2024 to June 30, 2024 on 19th and 20th March this year respectively .
With three days to 30th June 2024, fixed as end of implementation period for the affected 2023 budgetary appropriations , the two chambers have fixed Thursday June, 27th for separate sessions, where further extensions would be made ahead of their earlier resumption date, fixed for July 2, 2024.
Confirming the emergency session through telephone conversations with Journalists on Wednesday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu ( APC Ekiti South), said the session would be majorly on budgetary appropriation.
When specifically asked whether extension of implementation period for capital component of 2023 budget was in the offing, he responded saying “varied issues requiring urgent legislative attention, would be deliberated upon.
“The Senate shall be dwelling on wide range of issues at his its plenary on Thursday, particularly those on budgetary appropriations vis- a -vis legislative compliance.
“Bills on 2024 Supplementary Appropriation and New National Minimum Wage are out of it , since they are yet to be forwarded for consideration and passage by President Bola Tinubu,” Senator Adaramodu said.
He stressed that the hurriedly convened session for Thursday, falls in line with
Senate’s Constitutional power to regulate its sessions which according to him, would make it deal with national and constitutional issues earlier than hitherto scheduled.
Some other Senators contacted, said that requests for further extension of implementation period for the capital component of the N21.83 trillion 2023 budget and N2.17 trillion supplementary budget for the fiscal year, may have been forwarded by President Tinubu to both chambers of the National Assembly.