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As National Assembly reconvenes this week to consider the 2019 Appropriation Bill presented to it by President Muhammadu Buhari last December, Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyeyipo write that the experience of the lawmakers in 2018 should come handy in their projections into the New Year
Despite the fact that Senators and House of Representatives members, who won their respective parties’ tickets are currently busy in their various senatorial districts and federal constituencies, canvassing for votes, the eighth National Assembly will resume plenary this Wednesday after about a month adjournment.
During the four-week legislative break, some of the lawmakers were actively involved in both national and local campaigns of their respective parties.
For instance, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, were both in the forefront of the campaign by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Saraki as the Director-General of the Atiku Campaign Council led other party faithful including Dogara to campaign for PDP and Atiku in Lafia, Nasarawa State and Jos, Plateau State, among other places.
The Senate President also took time off to campaign for his re-election as Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District as well as the election of the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Hon Rasak Atunwa, as governor of Kwara State on the platform of PDP.
With the federal lawmakers returning to their legislative duties this week, priority is expected to be given to the 2019 Appropriation Bill before the Assembly.
The Appropriation Committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives headed by Senator Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe) and Hon Mustapha Bala (APC Kano) respectively will need to do everything possible towards ensuring that all the Ministers and heads of extra ministerial departments appear before the relevant committees to defend their respective budget quotations.
The speedy passage of the Appropriation Bill by the National Assembly is of the essence while not forgetting that President Buhari was late in presenting the proposals unlike in 2017, when the 2018 Appropriation Bill was laid before the Assembly as early as November 7.
The forthcoming general election scheduled to begin on February 16 through to March 2 may also slow down the consideration of the budget estimates, because most of the lawmakers will be actively involved at the polls and it may not be until mid-March that the full complement of the two chambers of the National Assembly will be able to fine-tune the budget estimates for this fiscal year.
As the nation awaits the passage of the 2019 Appropriation Bill by the Assembly, the 2018 legislative year was associated with a lot of things happening within and outside the two chambers of the National Assembly and which could give force to the 2019 projections.
Read Full Story on [ThisDay]
