The President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan has asserted that the generation and collection of revenues have remained the country’s major challenges as well as the massive loss of revenue through oil theft, now ‘debilitating and threatening to throw the economy into a coma.’
Lawan, while welcoming his colleagues from the long annual recess, lamented that revelations about the scale of oil theft shows that Nigeria could soon lose all revenues from that sector.
He charged his colleagues to ensure that everything possible was done to curtail this theft.
Lawan said the nation’s economy is still challenged, and stressed the need for the National Assembly and the Executive to continually seek better responses to the dire economic situation.
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The Senate President said the focus of the Assembly must be on ensuring a secured and safe country with an economy that works for all citizens.
‘In the next nine months, our attention and devotion should bring improvement to the current situations. This Senate is a Senate that will continue to work for all Nigerians at all times,’ Lawan said.
The Senate President informed that the confirmation of the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, work on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategic Paper, MTEF/FSP, 2022 budget and work to support the nation’s defence and security forces, among others would largely be the focus of the upper legislative chamber in the next three months.
He also informed that President Muhammadu Buhari would be presenting the 2023 budget estimates to the joint session of the National Assembly in the first week of October.
He said ‘The ninth Senate has established the practice of processing the annual Appropriation Bill of each year between October and December. I commend distinguished Senators for this achievement and a legacy that has changed the annual budgetary cycle of the federal government.’
Lawan reminded his colleagues that they have resumed to continue with the very good work they have done in the last three years
