The Senate has decided to extend the duration of the 2023 supplementary budget from its initial end date of June 30 to December 31, 2024.
In a swift legislative move, the Red Chamber suspended all procedural rules and passed the extension bill in under 20 minutes on Thursday.
According to a report by Punch, this expedited passage was preceded by a closed-door session among the lawmakers that lasted for two hours.
In related developments, back in December 2023, both chambers of the National Assembly had already extended the implementation period for the capital component of the budget from December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
This extension included the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget which was approved in November 2023.
Further extending these budgetary provisions, the Senate and the House of Representatives had previously, in March, responded to President Bola Tinubu's requests by extending the implementation period for the budgetary appropriations from March 31, 2024, to June 30, 2024.