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.
The Senate expressed this disapproval as the Appropriations Committee started receiving findings from several Senate committees on Thursday.
The committee urged the government to take a more effective and needs-based approach, emphasizing that the envelope system hampered efficient budget planning and development.
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.
