Senate To Suspend Plenary For 2 Weeks Over Budget Defence

The Senate has announced plans to suspend the plenary for two weeks starting January 14, 2025, as both chambers of the National Assembly focus on committee-level considerations of the proposed N49.7 trillion 2025 budget.

Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, disclosed this on Monday during a meeting with the chairmen of the Senate’s standing committees.

Adeola revealed that Thursday, January 9, has been set as an open day for stakeholder inputs on the budget, including presentations from the heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

He also stated that January 31 has been tentatively set as the date for presenting reports on the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, he noted that this timeline is subject to adjustment depending on the progress of deliberations.

Speaking at the meeting, which was attended by key Senate leaders such as Deputy Leader Senator Lola Ashiru (APC, Kwara South) and Senate Whip Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), Adeola acknowledged the tight timeframe for the budget process but emphasised the need for thorough consideration.

“Following the presentation of the 2025 budget by President Bola Tinubu on December 18, 2024, and its subsequent second reading in both chambers on December 19, hard copies of the proposals have been distributed to committee chairmen as reference documents for the budget defence sessions,” he said.

Adeola outlined the timeline for the budget review as follows: January 9: Open day for stakeholder inputs; January 9–18: Budget defence sessions with MDAs; January 15–18: Submission of reports by various committees; January 19–30: Collation and review of reports by the Appropriations Committee, January 31: Tentative date for laying the final report before the Senate and House.

Despite the tight schedule, Adeola stressed the importance of balancing efficiency with thoroughness. “The 31st of January is a tentative date meant to guide our work,” he added.

After addressing the press, Senator Adeola and the committee chairmen entered a closed-door session to strategise on the budget review process.