NASS Roundup: Tinubu’s gaffe, budget presentation, others top stories from House of Reps

Tinubu presents N49.7trn budget to lawmakers

On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly. As with all budget presentations, the day did not pass without its fair share of drama.

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The presentation marked the second budget delivered to a joint session but the third address to the Assembly. It will be recalled that the President addressed the joint session of the National Assembly on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth Republic in May.

Mr Tinubu presented a budget of ₦49.7 trillion to the joint session.

Mild rivalry between Akpabio and Tajudeen

Wednesday’s session was the first joint session since the GCON award controversy. In October, President Tinubu had awarded the second highest national honour to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, much to the dismay of members of the House of Representatives, as the speaker received a lower award.

Following a protest by the members of the lower chamber and public outcry, Mr Tinubu later resolved the issue by awarding the GCON title to Mr Tajudeen as well. However, Wednesday’s session brought the question of seniority into sharp focus as Mr Akpabio presided over proceedings.

The senate president dominated the session with his opening remarks, even receiving a standing ovation from both the senators and representatives.

When it was time for the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, to deliver the closing remarks, members of the House stood in solidarity with their leader, chanting his name: “Tee Jay, Tee Jay, Tee Jay.” They repeated the gesture after his speech.

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Mr Akpabio noticed the tactics employed by the House and jokingly remarked that senators did not stand to clap because, in the Red Chamber, clapping is frowned upon. One thing was clear during the session: the senate president and the speaker are not equals.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier analysed the matter and concluded that the two presiding officers are not equal, regardless of the GCON title.

Tinubu’s gaffes and his quick recovery

During his speech to the joint session, the president made an embarrassing gaffe that could have dominated headlines.

“To the 11th Assembly,” Mr Tinubu said, before being swiftly corrected that it is the 10th Assembly. He cleverly turned the moment around by saying, “I wrote 11th. This means you are all re-elected.” The lawmakers, cutting across all political parties, cheered his response.

This quick wit turned what could have been an embarrassing moment into one of applause.

However, that was not the only slip-up. During his budget presentation, Mr Tinubu stated that the total budget was ₦47.9 trillion. Following his speech, his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, issued a clarification that the total budget was actually ₦49.7 trillion.

Lengthy debate over 2025 budget in the House

On Thursday, the House passed the budget for a second reading after a debate lasting four hours.

However, to call the proceedings a “debate” would be inaccurate. Most lawmakers spent a significant portion of their time praising Speaker Tajudeen for hosting the president at the joint session. The majority lauded the budget, while a few dissenting voices focused on the deficit in the proposed budget.

Had the lawmakers avoided repeating what others had already said, the debate likely would not have lasted four hours. It felt more like an extended echo chamber, perhaps due to the live broadcast of the session, as many seemed eager to be seen speaking on national television.

₦704 million to support the fight against economic hardship

On Thursday, Speaker Tajudeen announced that the House had generated ₦704 million from a 50 per cent pay cut from members’ salaries.

He explained that the funds would be presented to President Bola Tinubu as part of the House’s support for Nigerians facing economic hardship.

However, one may ask: why is the House presenting the money to the president?

To put this in context, the amount constitutes just 0.20 per cent of the National Assembly’s 2024 budget.

Reps extends 2024 budget

Shortly before adjournment, the House extended the capital component of the 2024 budget until 30 June 2025.

According to the lawmakers, this is to allow for the full implementation of the budget.

The Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, sponsored the bill for the extension, and it was swiftly passed on the same day.

Extending the life cycle of budgets has become a routine occurrence under this administration.

Workers get three days off for festive period, lawmakers get 16 days

The lawmakers adjourned for the year and will not return to Abuja until 14 January. This amounts to about 16 working days of holiday. In contrast, workers across Nigeria will receive just three public holidays: Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day.