This is coming more than a month after President MUHAMMADU BUHARI presented the Appropriation Bill of Seven Point Two-Nine-Eight Trillion Naira before a joint session of the National Assembly.
The bill has now been committed to the Senate Committee on Appropriation for further legislative work.
The Senate has also adjourned plenary for three weeks to enable its various committees to hold budget defence sessions with officials of government ministries and agencies on the financial proposals.
In his remarks while reeling out the next line of actions, the Senate President, BUKOLA SARAKI said the Appropriation Bill is expected to reflect government’s fiscal plans to achieve clear economic and social objectives. ?
Senator SARAKI expressed the hope that the 2017 Budget would lay a foundation for Nigeria’s economic recovery, with emphasis on encouraging Made-In-Nigeria goods.
The Senate President also tasked his colleagues to ensure that adequate attention is given to infrastructure development, and if the need arises, to conduct public hearing to determine the validity of some of the financial proposals by government.
However; the Senate Minority Leader, Senator GODSWILL AKPABIO, expressed skepticism that the 2017 Budget might cause stagnation rather than growth due to plans for local and foreign borrowing.
Senator AKPABIO observed that the challenge of militancy in the Niger Delta must be resolved to ensure that the Federal Government meets its projections.
