The National Assembly has announced the suspension of the passage of 2016 Appropriation Bill, saying it was no longer possible to pass the budget on February 25 as earlier scheduled.
The NASS said its decision was borne out of “discrepancies, errors and ambiguities” inherent in the budget proposal.
Addressing a press conference, Senator Danjuma Goje and Rep. Abdulmumin Jibrin, the chairmen of the Appropriation Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively, said the National Assembly could not guarantee any future date for the passage of the budget.
Rep. Jibrin argued that the National Assembly joint committees would properly vet the budget before passage.
“We need sufficient time to pass a comprehensive budget,” he said.
He noted that the Presidency had also admitted errors in the budget.
Penultimate week, the Senate and the House of Representatives asked their respective appropriations committees to submit their reports, after rounds of defence by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), on February 24 to enable passage of the budget on February 5.
