Senate President Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan has said the National Assembly is looking forward to receiving the final copy of the 2020 Appropriation Bill from its committees by November 28 and pass the budget before the Christmas break.
The Senate President also assured Nigerians that between tomorrow and November 5, the various committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives are expected to defend their presentations before the committees on appropriation.
He added that today’s deadline for budget defence remained sacrosanct.
Lawan also said the current National Assembly was not a rubberstamp to anybody but only collaborating with the Executive in the nation’s interest.
The Senate President frowned on the insistence of government to sign agreements with labour unions, especially those in the Education sector, which are not implemented.
According to him, strikes have had adverse effects on the nation’s educational system.
Lawan said even though the legislature would disagree with the Executive on what they consider inappropriate, they would not go to the market place to fight them over such issues.
The Senate President said all parties would sit and resolve their differences in the overall national interest.
He stressed that the legislature is the only arm of government that can represent the people adequately, take time and carry out timely legislations on matters that enhance good governance and would, therefore, not renege on its responsibility.
stamp. We are working on the budget and if we see any area we don’t agree with, we will say so because we have to do the right thing until we are able to get the budget processed and passed…”
