The report of the 2020 budget earlier scheduled for presentation in the Senate is not ready and the Senate has maintained that the passage of the budget that was fixed for November 28 is no longer possible.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan had announced last week that the budget report would be presented and budget passed immediately.
But in plenary on Tuesday, Chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Barau Jibrin, told the Senators that “the budget report is not ready”.
Barau pleaded with the Senate to grant the committee additional one week to tidy up the report before the final presentation.
He said that if work on the report was completed, it would be laid on Tuesday December 3 along with other necessary details.
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The Senate through Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, approved the request.
Lawan urged the committee to present the report mandatorily and unfailingly, for the Senate to consider and pass it.
Meanwhile, Senators on Tuesday protested the presentation of the 2019/2020 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan read Buhari’s letter on the matter to Senators during plenary.
However, the protest of the Senators was hinged on the fact that the board of NDDC was yet to be inaugurated and that it was not proper for the President to rush to the Senate with budget of the agency.
Leading the protest, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the budget debate should be stepped down because, according to him, there was no head of the agency to appear for the budget defence before the relevant committees of the Senate.
“We just heard from you (Senate President) the communication from Mr President which relates to the presentation of the NDDC’s Budget for approval.
“Of course, what it will mean is that the budget will go to the relevant committee of Appropriation and the NDDC Committee and some persons will come to defend the budget.
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“Having regard to the fact that this Senate has confirmed members of the board of the NDDC and they are yet to resume office, Mr President I fear that we may run into a problem of delayed budget again since nobody will come to defend this budget.
“Because this August body, having confirmed the board of NDDC, will not countenance any illegal contraption coming in front of us to say they are representing the NDDC.
Abaribe further said: “I know that this may be pre-emptive, but my people say that if we act quick we will prevent disaster from coming.
“So, to prevent a delayed budget for the NDDC, that is helping the region for development, it would be better for us to prevent this issue from coming and let the needful be done.”
Sustaining Abaribe’s protest, Lawan directed Buhari to always do the right thing.
“Thank you Minority Leader but because you have come under order 43, this motion is not subject to debate but let me sustain your point of order.
“As far as we are concerned this Senate knows that we have confirmed the request of Mr President for the board membership of the NDDC and we have communicated that and the next logical thing to do by law is for the appointments of the members of the board to take immediate effect.
“I believe that the executive arm of the government will attend to that quickly so that we have the right people to come and defend the Appropriation request of Mr President,” Lawan stated.
