Senate set to pass MTEF this week

THE Senate is set to pass the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) into law this week, to pave the way for the second reading of the 2017 budget.

Feelers from the Senate indicated that the debate on the crisis rocking the nation’s aviation sector stalled the planned passage of the MTEF last week, as the upper chamber received at plenary the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

The passage of the MTEF is slated for Wednesday, according to the Senate notice paper for the week.

Besides the passage of the MTEF, which is being handled by the Senate Committee on Finance, the upper chamber would also continue the discussion on aviation crisis after featuring Sirika last Thursday.

Last week, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Sirika, briefed the Senate on the necessity for the planned closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja from March 8, but a stalemate ensued as the senators were not convinced by his submissions.

He was asked to submit further details as regards the planned repairs of the airport this week.

A peep into the notice paper for the new week indicated that the lawmakers would also debate amendments to the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) as well as the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) Act.

The notice paper released by the office of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Baba Kaka Garbai, also indicated that those to appear before the Senate this week in respect of the Abuja airport closure and repairs, aside Sirika, included the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; representatives of the company billed to handle the repair work, Julius Berger, as well as heads of the security agencies.

The paper also indicated that the Senate would debate a motion on the state of affairs in the camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-East.

The document also indicated that the Senate would undertake the second reading of the Bill to amend the Compulsory, Free, Universal Basic Education Act of 2004, in an effort aimed at enforcing mandatory free education up to Senior Secondary School level.