Senate Begins debate on 2024 budget

Adekunle Adesuji, Abuja

Senate on Thursday started debate on the general principles of the 2024 budget proposals twenty- four hours after presentation of budget proposal by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Tinubu had presented the estimates to the joint session of the National Assembly, on Wednesday.

It could be recalled that Tinubu appealed to the lawmakers to pass the budget before December 31, 2023.

The budget passed first reading in both chambers of parliament when President Tinubu presented it.

Bamidele, while leading the debate, made presentations that were largely based on Tinubu’s budget speech.

He said the budget was designed to prioritise electricity challenges, procurement of vaccines, construction of major roads across the country and construction of railway projects.

He said the parameters and fiscal assumptions of the proposed budget would develop economic activities of the country and transform living conditions of Nigerians.

Opeyemi therefore urged his colleagues to support and pass the bill.

“I believe that all the proposals in this budget are laudable and would enhance the lives of citizens,” he said.

Bamidele complained that the recurrent expenditure is too high in the 2024 budget which constituted 43 percent of the total budget proposal.

He said the proposed expenditure of N8.7 trillion for capital budget which will be used for a number of Infrastructure projects , but it will be funded largely through Foregin and domestic debt.

He therefore called for non-debt option to fund the capital budget .

The senator representing Delta South,
Joel Thomas supported passage of the budget saying that the budget would develop economic activities of the country, if implemented.

“It is a budget that is going to give renewed hope to our people,” he said

“On the capital expenditure, we have never had it this close in the past. With this budget, most of the things lacking in our economy will be attended to.”

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan also supported passage of the bill.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, complained that the federal government had neglected her constituency.

She called on the government to facilitate projects in her constituency.

Many senators who contributed to the debate supported passage of the Appropriation Bill.

senators during their contributions to the debate, praised President Tinubu for the budget but sought the allocation of capital projects to their constituencies, which they claimed were neglected by the federal government.

“Convert palliatives to capital projects, and we will sort ourselves out. Humanitarian and palliatives should be converted to roads construction,” said Senator Garba Maidoki