The Senate on Tuesday, December 1, approved a N574 billion budget of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The National Assembly
This amount was contained in the report by the committee on appropriation of the 2015 supplementary appropriation bill which was presented and considered on the floor of the Senate
The National Assembly
This amount was contained in the report by the committee on appropriation of the 2015 supplementary appropriation bill which was presented and considered on the floor of the Senate
Senate president Bukola Saraki, who commended his colleagues for the handwork that was put in to deliver the report added that ministries and agencies in charge of the expenditure should ensure that the funds are judiciously used.
Saraki said: “The oversight committees particularly appropriation, downstream petroleum, anti-corruption must expose with hope of sanction, any of these companies or agencies that take the opportunity because of the suffering of Nigerians to abuse this amount of money. This is a huge amount of money and I even believe that the so called economic sabotage agencies this is where their work is.”
“This is truly economic sabotage where billions of Naira is being approved but not judiciously used, even our committee on anti-corruption must play a role to oversee every single payment,” he added.
On the issue of fuel subsidy, he said Nigerians must put an end to the petroleum blackmail adding that the committee on petroleum (downstream and upstream) and anti-corruption should oversight and make necessary recommendation to the senate for further legislative action on this matter.
The bill which was presented by Danjuma Goje representing Gombe central senatorial district gained approval by most lawmakers present during plenary.
Leader of the Senate, Ali Ndume, while stressing the important of the bill said it would end fuel ques.
“Not passing this bill now will mean that the queues at the fuel stations will continue.”
In his reactions, the minority leader, Godswill Akpabio, noted that the plight of Nigerians should be put into consideration so as to end the sufferings of the populace.
However, while briefing newsmen after the plenary, Danjuma Goje said the Senate is currently working to fulfill its promises to Nigerians maintaining that the bill concerns the subsidy petroleum products.
“What we were given earlier by the executive only covers from January to September this year. We have to approve the last quarter, they came up with N108 billion,”he said. We want to ensure as we promised Nigerians, to do whatever it takes to supply uninterrupted petroleum products for the next four years,”
Goje added that in the supplementary appropriation bill, N5 million was approved for victims support fund while N1.5 million to support sports.
Earlier, the Senate went into closed door session for an hour to discuss the appropriation bill.
The Senate stood down the orders of the day to another legislative day.
