Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Thursday said the federal government’s N895 billion supplementary budget would be given expeditious consideration and passage when forwarded to the National Assembly.
This is just as the Senate donated relief materials worth N10million to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, Wassa Abuja.
The donation was part of activities to mark the second anniversary of the Ninth Senate.
Speaking while donating the relief items, Lawan said the IDP camp itself was a consequence of the country’s security situation, which must be tackled for the displaced people to return to their various homes.
Lawan said: “The National Assembly has been doing all it could with the Executive arm of government to bring an end to the series of security challenges confronting the country.
“The Federal Executive Council (FEC), as reported in the Media Wednesday, has prepared N895billion supplementary budget to be forwarded to both Chambers of the National Assembly for approval.
“Over N700 billion from the N895 billion supplementary budget is earmarked for tackling all forms of security problems in the country, the very reason the National Assembly will give it expeditious consideration and passage when received.”
He added that the displaced persons in the camp are Nigerians who have every right like other Nigerians.
“None of the people here wanted or wished to be here. They are indeed symptoms of insecurity we face. We must be able to give them food to eat. Their safety and integrity must be ensured and protected.
“On our part, as Senators, we have come with N10million worth relief materials for them and urged all the relevant agencies to see to their upkeep from time to time pending when the required normalcy and security is restored to their respective villages and settlements,” he added.
Earlier, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammad Bello, said a total of 26,000 displaced persons are sheltering in 24 camps in Abuja.
“The Wassa camp alone has over a thousand displaced people from Gwoza, Borno State,” he said.
