2025 BUDGET: LAWMAKERS CRITICISE FG’S ENVELOPE SYSTEM

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Lawmakers have condemned the envelope system of funding the annual budget, describing it as anti-democratic and calling for its discontinuation by the federal government.

This criticism was voiced by the Senate as the Appropriations Committee began receiving reports from various Senate committees on Thursday.

The committee emphasised that the envelope system undermined effective budget planning and development, urging the government to adopt a more efficient and needs-based approach.

Similarly, the Senate Committee on Capital Market rejected the 2025 budget proposal of the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) owing to discrepancies and errors in the figures and items presented.

The decision was made on Thursday during the tribunal’s budget defense session, chaired by Senator Osita Izunaso. Following a motion by Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP-Bayelsa), seconded by Senator Aliyu Wadada (SDP-Nasarawa), the committee directed IST Chairman Amos Azi to return on Friday at noon to re-present the corrected budget.

The IST Chairman, Amos Azi, apologised for the discrepancies, assuring the committee of efforts to correct the errors.