The Senate, had yesterday, warned President Bola Tinubu against illegitimate spending and proposed to him to seek a supplementary budget for its Compressed Natural Gas initiative.
Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, leading the Senate’s Committee on Gas, has requested that the executive branch promptly submit a Supplementary Budget for 2023 to the National Assembly to initiate the Compressed Natural Gas project. This plea coincides with President Bola Tinubu’s recent announcement of efforts to alleviate the effects of fuel subsidy removal on the Nigerian populace. The legislators are steadfast in their belief that extra-budgetary spending violates existing legislation.
The senators cautioned against extra-budgetary spending through Ways and Means, emphasizing that the legislature is prepared to provide assistance and relief to the people. Jarigbe praised Tinubu’s CNG revolution in powering vehicles, stating that it would alleviate the citizens’ hardships. He also called on the President to propose a supplementary budget to finance the gas value chain, including CNG infrastructure and vehicles. Jarigbe also mentioned that funds would be needed for workshops and training on CNG adoption. He stressed that the President should avoid unauthorized spending to comply with the law. Jarigbe expressed the National Assembly’s support for Tinubu’s programs and suggested that a 2023 supplementary budget would be more suitable than the previous administration’s Ways and Means approach, which had caused contention in the Central Bank of Nigeria. The President, in his Independence speech, vowed to alleviate the hardships faced by Nigerians. Tinubu envisions a Nigeria without hunger, poverty, and hardship.