The N19.76 trillion national budget will be presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint session of Federal lawmakers today.
This address marks his eighth since he was inaugurated on May 29, 2015, as a candidate for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
PulseNets noted on Friday that the National Assembly’s operations have been curtailed in advance of President Buhari’s scheduled visit at 10:00 am.
Traffic in both vehicles and people has been limited, and security surrounding the site has been reinforced.
Additionally, a holiday has been proclaimed for the legislative and administrative assistants of Senators and House of Representatives members, leaving just the staff of the Sergeant-At-Arms, the parliament’s official internal security unit.
While presidential guard members could be seen with their vehicles parked in the parking lot, combined security teams have also been deployed throughout the facility.
Police officers who are radically different from the well-known faces who have worked with the National Assembly could be seen roaming the NASS complex in place of the security agents who had previously guarded the entrance.
Security personnel closely inspect anybody entering the complex to make sure they are properly tagged before allowing them admission.
Additionally, for reasons of decorum, bank branches and other offices whose operations have nothing to do with legislative concerns have been closed.
The presentation ceremony will take place in the interim in the House of Representatives’ temporary chamber, which is located on the ground floor and has adequate room for the combined session.
PulseNets remembers the breakdown of the President’s prior budgets as he delivers the budget seven months before the end of his term:
Budgets for the year 2016 budget – N6.06 trillion; 2017 – N7.29 trillion; 2018 – N8.6 trillion; 2019 – N8.83 trillion; 2020 – N9.79 trillion; 2021 – N13.08 trillion; 2022 – N16 trillion; and 2022 – N19 trillion respectively.
