The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to cut lavish budget allocations for the presidency and National Assembly.

Sunday Telegraph reported on Thursday, December 19, that the Senate passed the N49.7tn ‘Restoration’ Budget for a second reading after various deliberations.

Reacting to the swift passage, SERAP in a letter dated December 21, 2024, highlighted the N9.4 billion earmarked for travel, meals, and catering for the presidency, alongside the proposed N344.85 billion for lawmakers in the 2025 budget was unnecessary spending that could be redirected to address Nigeria’s growing budget deficit and improve public services.

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Kolawole Oluwadare the agency’s Deputy Director, expressed the organization’s concerns, stating that any proposed unnecessary spending by the presidency and the National Assembly would amount to a fundamental breach of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as amended.

Furthermore, the organisation urged Akpabio and Abbas to request President Bola Tinubu to present a revised supplementary appropriation bill reflecting reduced budgets for the presidency and the National Assembly

“The proposed huge spending is neither necessary nor in the public interest, especially given the country’s dire economic situation and the level of proposed borrowing to fund the 2025 budget.”