‘National Assembly Set To Pass ₦49.7 Trillion 2025 Budget This Week’

The National Assembly may pass the ₦49.7 trillion federal budget this week, barring any change in plans or unexpected hindrances.

Naija News understands the Senate and House of Representatives joint Committees on Appropriation are expected to lay their reports on the budget tomorrow when plenary resumes.

It would be recalled that both chambers of the National Assembly postponed the resumption of plenary to allow Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government to complete their budget defence.

Speaking in Abuja on Monday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, hinted that the budget is likely to be passed this week once the lawmakers resume plenary on Tuesday and conclude all necessary legislative procedures.

He said it is expected that the committees on appropriation would lay their reports before the respective chambers once plenary resumes tomorrow.

“You know we are reconvening on the 4th which is Tuesday. So when we convene, we will be expecting the reports.

“So issues that the reports would generate will determine the day the budget will be passed,” he said, as quoted by The Nation.

Adaramodu explained that once the report is laid, members of the Senate would consider the 2025 budget on a line-by-line and clause-by-clause basis before it can be passed and congruence sought from the House of Representatives.

“It’s not going to be a graveyard silence. The report would be laid on the floor and then we will ask questions from the Committee on Appropriation and the Committee on Finance.

“Thereafter the Senate would seek the concurrence of the House of Representatives and then the transmission to the presidency for assent. So, the Senate is expecting the report of the Committee on Appropriation on Tuesday.

“Immediately, it will be committed to the Committee of the Whole chamber whereby we pick the budget clause by clause, almost line by line,” the Senate spokesperson assured.

Asked if the budget would be passed this week, Adaramodu said: “We may likely pass it but it depends on so many variables, like the report of the Appropriations Committee and then the exhaustive debate that we will have on the budget report thereafter.

“We want to do this budget thoroughly so that we will not be going back and forth on all these supplementary. We want to be thorough. We want to be thorough with it.”

Likely Increase

Asked if the budget figure is likely to increase from what President Bola Tinubu presented in December 2024, Adaramodu replied that the request of the Ministries and Agencies would be considered and weighed against the revenue available to the government.

He said: “Even if the budget is N100 trillion agencies would still ask for further increase but when we look at the merit of it, then as submitted in the report of the Appropriation Committee and that of Finance, you know even when we are dealing with the budget we have to be mindful of the revenue to be generated by the federal government.”