The Senate has passed the 2022 Appropriation Bill, approving N17.126 trillion as the budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
The budget was passed after the Senate on Wednesday considered and adopted the recommendations of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriation – presented by the Chairman, Senator Barau Jibrin.
Just as the House of Representatives did 24 hours earlier,, the Senate raised the total estimates of the Federal Government’s budget by N735.8 billion to the current amount from the proposed N16.391 trillion.
The upper legislative chamber also raised the oil benchmark from the proposed $57 per barrel to $62 per barrel.
According to the lawmakers, the increase of the oil benchmark is “to reflect the current market values of the oil barrel in the international market”.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, commended his colleagues for restoring the budget cycle back to January to December.
He said: “We thank Almighty God for helping us achieve that.
“Let me commend this senate for standing tall. We are rounding the year on a very high note, we passed the PIB and it is not an act, something that was not passed for over 20 years.
“We passed the electoral bill but we know there are some reservations, so we will look at it with the house of representatives. I am sure that this senate and the national assembly has done a lot in legislative intervention.
“I want to commend Nigerians, we take your advice. This national assembly is for all Nigerians.”
