By Our Reporter
There was a heated at the House of Representatives on Thursday over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s request to extend the implementation period for the capital component of the N21.83 trillion 2023 budget and the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budgets until December 2024.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen read the letter detailing the request, after which the executive bills seeking the extension were introduced. When the House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, moved for the second reading of the bills, House Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda raised concerns. Chinda argued that it would be morally wrong for the country to run three to four budgets concurrently. He pointed out that while the 2024 budget is already being implemented, the executive is requesting an extension for both the 2023 main and supplementary budgets. He suggested that important projects in the supplementary budget should instead be moved to the main budget.
Former House Leader Alhassan Ado Doguwa supported Chinda’s stance, agreeing that it would be inappropriate to manage three budgets simultaneously.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen intervened, urging members to support the extension, highlighting that many items in the supplementary budget pertain to security issues. Despite his appeal, the majority of lawmakers expressed discomfort with the extension request, repeatedly shouting “No! No!”
In response to the escalating tension, Speaker Tajudeen called for the House to enter an executive session to resolve the issues before resuming consideration of the bills. The House is currently in an executive session.