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The 2025 appropriation bill has scaled the second reading at the national assembly.
The budget passed the second reading during plenary on Thursday after an extensive debate by legislators in the senate and the house of representatives.
On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu presented a record N49.7 trillion as the proposed budget for 2025 to a joint session of the upper and lower legislative chambers.
The lawmakers, at plenary on Thursday, took turns elaborating on the general principles of the money bill, offering recommendations that included thorough scrutiny of the budget breakdown during engagements with heads of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Leading the debate, Julius Ihonvbere, majority leader of the green chamber, said the budget would improve the nation’s economy and consolidate the achievements of the president.
In his debate, Kingsley Chinda, minority leader, said Tinubu’s assertion that the budget would reduce inflation from the current 34.6 percent to 15 percent is “ambitious” and not realistic.
The ranking lawmaker said the allocation of N4.91 trillion to defence and security “will not take us to the promised land”.
He said the budget should also prioritise human capital development and environmental sustainability.
“The budget might appear very beautiful but there is much more for us to do as a nation,” Chinda said.
Pascal Arogorn Ibe
