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Lawmaker lauds
Senate for approving
supplementary budget
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. |