The Senate adjourned its plenary session and entered a recess, set to reconvene on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced this during Tuesday’s session in the Red Chamber. The recess allows lawmakers to participate in activities marking the 2024 Democracy Day and the Senate’s end-of-session break, following their inauguration on June 13, 2023
The 10th National Assembly will mark its one-year anniversary in office on Thursday, June 13. Earlier in the session, the Senate passed a total of N1.911 trillion as the 2024 statutory budget for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). This budget approval came after the upper chamber deliberated on the committee report presented by Senator Asuquo Ekpeyoung (APC–Akwa Ibom South), Chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC.
Senators raised concerns over the NDDC’s proposed borrowing of N1 trillion to fund the budget, citing procedural irregularities. They emphasized the importance of collaborating with government agencies like the Debt Management Office and complying with the Fiscal Responsibility Act in loan approval processes. The budget breakdown includes N38.545 billion for personnel costs, N29.246 billion for overhead costs, N8.785 billion for internal capital, with N324 billion expected from the federal government and N25 billion from the Ecological Fund.