Deputy spokesman of the House of Representatives, Phillip Agbese said on Tuesday that the parliament has done a real surgical operation on the 2025 budget estimate presented to it by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The President had presented N49.70tn 2025 budget estimate to the National Assembly, saying that the lawmakers began considering the budget on the 10th of January.
Agbese said the various committees of the House have taken time to work on the budget estimates of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies ahead of the passage of the 2025 budget estimates.
He said, “You are aware that we commenced the defence of the 2025 budget estimates earlier this month and so far, we have done a good job. As we promised, we did our best to ask the relevant questions and where we were not satisfied, we demanded explanations.
“Some of the MDAs made beautiful presentations, others did not. The media witnessed some if not all these issues during our budget defence sessions. What was not done in the media spotlight is that we carried out a surgical operation on these proposals in such a way that Nigerians will get value for their money.
“As a parliament, we are aware of the difficulties of the times and there is no way we would approve frivolous budgetary demands. We made this clear to the Ministers and Heads of agencies that they must look for innovative ways to generate revenue to enable the government to run effectively.
“We also made it clear that we will not approve frivolous demands as proposed to us. They left with this message, aware that with the 10th Assembly, it is never business as usual anymore,” Hon Agbese said.
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He assured that the House under the leadership of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas will always prioritise integrity while dealing with any national assignment, saying, “From day one, we promised that as representatives of Nigerians, we would ensure that the right thing is done. The budget is about Nigerians and so, anything that goes contrary to the interest of Nigerians will not be of interest to us.”
Agbese called on Nigerians to continue to support the President Bola Tinubu-led government in its bid to revamp the economy and deliver on good governance.
The Nation
