Senate to suspend plenary for 2 weeks over 2025 budget

The Nigerian Senate has announced plans to suspend plenary for two weeks, starting January 14, 2025, to focus on committee-level deliberations for the proposed ₦49.7 trillion 2025 budget.

Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, disclosed this on Monday during a meeting with the chairmen of Senate Standing Committees.

Adeola noted that Thursday, January 9, has been designated as an open day for stakeholders’ input on the budget. This will include presentations from the heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to provide clarity on their proposed allocations.

He also indicated that January 31 has been tentatively set for the presentation of committee reports on the 2025 Appropriation Bill to both the Senate and the House of Representatives during plenary. However, he stressed that this timeline could be adjusted depending on the progress of the deliberations.

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Speaking at the meeting, which was attended by principal officers of the Senate 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 of the 2025 Money Bill.

“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 defense sessions,” he said.

Adeola outlined the timeline for the budget review as follows: January 9: Open day for stakeholder inputs, January 9–18: Budget defense 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.