The National Assembly, both the Senate and House of Representatives, on Wednesday, May 16, passed the country’s 2018 budget, raising it by N500 billion.
Both Houses on Wednesday approved a budget that rose from N8.6 trillion to N9.1 trillion, six months after it was presented by the executive.
President Muhammadu Buhari had presented the budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on November 7, 2017.
Both houses of the National Assembly on Tuesday received the budget report of their appropriation committees.
At the Senate, the chairman of the senate committee on appropriation, Danjuma Goje, said the increase of N500 billion was done in consultation with the executive.
He said the increment was informed by a decision to increase oil benchmark from the proposed N45 to N51.
At the House of Representatives, the appropriations committee also presented its report.
House of Representatives headed by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara also passed the budget.
13-clauses accompanying the bill were also approved and passed.
The House suspended it’s rules to immediately take the third reading of the bill and set up a conference committee headed by the Chairman House Committee on Banking and Currency, Jones Onyeriere to harmonize with the Senate.
Before the passage of the appropriation bill. The House went into a closed -door session.
