The upper chamber of the National Assembly, the senate has extended the implementation of the 2021 budget from March 31 to May 31, 2022.
The development occurred after it considered a bill to amend the 2021 appropriation act.
The bill which was sponsored by Yahaya Abdullahi, senate leader, was read during plenary on Tuesday, April 05, 2022, for the first, second, and third time after the suspension of Rule 78(1).
Leading debate on the bill, Abdullahi said the appropriation act in the past was passed mid-year, with its implementation usually extended to the following year.
“In previous appropriation act, these extensions were usually covered by a clause,” he said.
“The clause is in line with the provisions of section 318 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that the act runs for a period of 12 months, starting from the date it comes into effect.”
He observed that clause 12 of the provisions of section 318 of the constitution provided that the 12-month period started from the first day of January to December 31, 2021.
He said the 2022 appropriation act was amended to extend the implementation from December 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
He added that the extension of the budget period became imperative because of the need to complete ongoing projects.
