Lawmakers have frowned at the envelope system of funding the annual budget, calling it anti-democratic and urging for its discontinuation.
This criticism came as the Appropriations Committee began receiving reports from various Senate committees on Thursday.
According to the committee, the envelope system undermined effective budget planning and development, urging the government to adopt a more efficient and needs-based approach.
Also, 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.
IST Chairman Amos Azi apologised for the discrepancies, assuring the committee of efforts to correct the errors.
