No resumption date has been decided for the National Assembly, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have said.
This position contradicts an earlier one given last week by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun.
Lasun had told reporters that the House would reconvene this week.
However, in a statement issued by Yusuph Olaniyonu and Turaki Hassan, media aides to Saraki and Dogara, respectively, no date has been fixed for the resumption.
One of the main issues expected to be addressed is the N242 billion budget for the 2019 elections.
The statement reads in part: “The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, have directed that we inform all Senators, Honourable members and the public that a date has not been set for the reconvening of the Senate and the House of Representatives to consider the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 2019 elections budget request forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 17, 2018.
“The leadership of the two chambers had met and agreed to reconvene to consider the proposal this week before which a meeting between the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters and officials of the INEC must have held on or before Monday August 13, 2018.”
The statement reads further: “The joint committees were also expected to meet with the joint Senate and House Committees on Appropriations, Loans and Debts on the Eurobond loan request after which two reports would have been ready for presentation in the two chambers.
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“However, no such meeting had taken place yet as a result of which both Senate and House of Representatives cannot reconvene as there is no report to consider.
“Until the Committees have a ready report for the consideration of the two chambers, it will be most irresponsible to recall members from recess especially those that may have travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.”
It would be recalled that on July 24 the National Assembly announced that it would go on recess and resume September 25.
However, following the plea by the Presidency, the National Assembly decided to reconvene, only to be harassed by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, who laid siege to the National Assembly last week Tuesday.
The development led to the sack of the DSS boss, Lawal Daura.
