Abuja, Nigeria – The National Assembly, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, has passed a Bill to amend the Appropriation Act 2023, extending the implementation period of its capital aspect from June 30, 2024, to December 31, 2024. The bill also amends the Supplementary Appropriation Act 2023, extending its implementation to the same date.
The legislative action came swiftly, as the bill scaled its first reading on Thursday. Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, who sponsored the executive bill, led the debate on its general principles.
This legislative development follows a request from President Bola Tinubu, who on Thursday asked the Senate to extend the implementation periods for both the ₦21.83 trillion 2023 budget and the ₦2.17 trillion supplementary budget from June 30, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
During a plenary session chaired by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the bill was presented for the first time as the National Assembly resumed a new legislative session. President Tinubu’s request comes on the heels of previous extensions: in December 2023, the implementation period of the capital component of the budget was extended from December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024. This was followed by another extension from March 31, 2024, to June 30, 2024, requested by the president on March 19 and 20 of this year.
Senate President Akpabio stated that the request would be deliberated in a committee of supply after reconvening from a closed-door session.
In other proceedings, the Senate observed a minute of silence to honor the late Deputy Controller of Customs, Etop Essien, who passed away on Tuesday while answering questions from members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts.
