The Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation on Monday gave a 48-hour deadline to all sub-committees to submit their reports on the 2024 budget.

This is preparatory to the passage of the N27.5 trillion budget before the end of this month, according to Sen. Solomon Olamilekan, a co-chairman of the committee.

Sub-committees began submitting their reports on Monday to the joint committee in Abuja.

The Committee on Tourism, chaired by Senator Ireti Kingibe, and the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, headed by Sen. Victor Umeh, led on Monday in submitting their reports.

Making his opening remarks as the session opened, Olamilekan enjoined all the sub-committees to keep to the deadline and, by so doing, ensure that the National Assembly would meet the January-December budget cycle.

He said, “I am appealing to all my colleagues to please, I am ready, and the deadline is Wednesday this week to receive all reports, all standing committees of the senate.

“By Wednesday, any agency or any committee that has not submitted their report before the committee has assumed that you are giving us the omnibus power to go ahead and treat your budget independently of that committee.

“So, we are appealing to all chairmen of various committees to please submit their reports on or before Wednesday this week.”

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune indicated a likelihood that the budget would be passed on Thursday by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Sources informed the newspaper that lawmakers would reconvene plenary on December 20, receive the budget reports, and proceed to pass the budget a day later (Thursday).

“The Christmas and New Year vacations will start on Thursday. Looking at the fact that December 25^th(Monday) is Christmas Day, senators will likely pass the budget on Thursday and close for the year, leaving the job of signing it before December 31 for Mr. President, one of the legislative sources disclosed.

However, another official said much would depend on whether all the reports would be tidied up before Thursday.

“There is some uncertainty, and even the committee on appropriation can’t give you an exact position for now.

“The National Assembly may adjourn on Thursday and still reconvene on December 28 to pass the budget.

“Such scenarios are not impossible with lawmakers,” the source said.

From the sub-committee reports submitted on Monday, two issues caught the attention of lawmakers: one is the fate of 136 Nigerians trapped in Ethiopian prisons, and the second Is the N5 billion proposed in the budget to revamp the Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River State.

While submitting his report, Umeh said some of the 136 Nigerians serving various jail terms had sought to be transferred to Nigeria to serve out their punishment.

However, he told the committee that the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), which is responsible for handling their matter, is handicapped due to poor funding.

For instance, Umeh said the commission was given a budget of N1.2bn for 2024, out of which N652.9 million was earmarked for capital expenditure.

But Umeh stated that looking at the workload of NIDCOM, N4.9bn was recommended by his committee as the agency’s capital budget.

Umeh explained that this would cover five new line items introduced to the budget, including addressing the plight of Nigerians in prisons, organising Diaspora summits, and other projects to coordinate the activities of Nigerians living outside the shores of the country.

Responding, Olamilekan promised that the committee on appropriations would review the report and find a way to shore up the budget of NIDCOM, “considering the very important work they have been doing.”

He added, “We will pay attention to NIDCOM in our reporting stage. However, we will do a review of the five new lines and prioritise them.”

On her part, Sen. Kingibe submitted to the committee that out of the N7.9bn proposed as the capital budget of the Ministry of Tourism, over N5bn was earmarked for the Obudu Cattle Ranch.

She said it was not proper, in her view, for one geopolitical zone to take more than half the total capital vote of the agency to the neglect of other zones.

The committee replied to her that, while her point was taken, members would investigate how the N5 billion would be spent to be sure that it would actually go into the revamping of the Obudu ranch.

“We will investigate why we are spending this N5 billion in just one geopolitical zone.

“But we have to also understand that we are still not yet there with this money allocated to tourism.

“ We have to do more if we really want to drive tourism in this country,” Olamilekan stated. (Nigerian Tribune)