ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Musa Sani, says that President Bola Tinubu is taking a deliberate approach in preparing the 2025 budget for the National Assembly to avoid potential oversights.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Senator Sani maintained that there is still ample time for the President to present the 2025 appropriation bill.
The senator also said that, in response to public concerns about rushed policies, the President is now taking extra care to thoroughly review all details before finalizing the budget proposal.
“I believe that Mr President is now considering those voices that Nigerians made in making sure that the budget he is bringing is a budget that will rediscover the economy of Nigeria, so I don’t think it is late (to present the budget).
“I believe Mr President is doing what he is supposed to do in order to checkmate whatever lapses we had in 2024 budget and then correct them in 2025 budget. So, for me, it is not too late,” Senator Sani said.
Senator Sani acknowledged that while it is important for the executive to present the budget to the National Assembly promptly, allowing lawmakers enough time to review it thoroughly, they would not welcome a poorly prepared document.
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“You can see since the inception of this government so many reform policies have been coming up and we appreciate the fact that the economic team are doing their job the way it is supposed to be done.
“We also as lawmakers expect that we shall be given budget timely so that we can start working on them. But we also at the same time will not want a situation whereby a document will just be presented to us.”
With just over two months remaining in the 2024 fiscal year, the House of Representatives recently highlighted a violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act by President Bola Tinubu.
In a motion introduced by House member Clement Jimbo, lawmakers pointed out that the 2025 Budget Estimates had yet to be presented to the National Assembly, despite the fact that the 2024 fiscal year was nearing its end.
The House raised concerns about the limited time left to properly review and pass the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), and the 2025 Budget Estimates.
The lawmakers noted that the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 mandates prudent resource management, with Section 11(1)(b) specifically requiring the federal government to prepare and present the MTEF to the National Assembly at least four months before the start of the next financial year.
The issue has been referred to the Committee on National Planning for further examination.