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the Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence and Army, Senator Ibrahim Ida, yesterday commended the chamber for its speedy consideration and passage of the 2008 supplementary appropriation bill.

The Senate had on Thursday approved President Umaru Yar’Adua’s request to spend an additional 683.3 billion Naira this year.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, Ida appealed to the House of Representatives to give the same treatment to the supplementary appropriation bill before it.

“The Senate considered it necessary to give the supplementary bill all the attention it deserved in order to support and fast-track the country’s infrastructural development.

“Senate had to put every other thing aside to ensure expeditious passage of the bill. I hope that our comrades in the House will do the same,” he said.

Ida said Yar’Adua’s presentation of the supplementary budget was a clear indication of his commitment to promote the country’s development in a pragmatic manner.

“The budget addresses critical areas such as infrastructure, security, energy and poverty alleviation,” he noted.

The senator added that the actions of the president also reflected his determination to promote the due process and the rule of law.

For Senator Ayogu Eze, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Information, the capacity of the executive arm to implement the supplementary budget before the end of 2008 is not in doubt.

“The beauty of democracy is that even if the money is not spent by the end of the year, it will be returned to the treasury,’’ he told NAN.

“I, however, believe that they will be able to spend it because the supplementary appropriation is for special projects,’’ Eze said.

He recalled that the lawmakers resented the bill when it was first introduced, but said that they later saw the need to consider it.