The National Assembly has disputed social media reports that President Bola Tinubu will propose the 2025 budget to a joint session on Wednesday.
Dr. Ali Umoru, the National Assembly’s Secretary of Research and Information, stated on Tuesday that the reports were untrue.
He advised the public to dismiss the report, noting that the legislative body has yet to approve the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, which must come before the national budget presentation.
Umoru suggested that all official correspondence involving the National Assembly be routed through its permitted channels and cautioned against distributing unconfirmed and false information.
“The purported claim that the 2025 budget will be presented tomorrow is untrue. The necessary legislative process for budget presentation, including the approval of the MTEF and FSP, is still ongoing,” the statement read.
He also emphasised the National Assembly’s commitment to transparent administration and urged media outlets and citizens to verify material before release.
This news comes as Nigerians wait for the formal release of the 2025 budget, which is scheduled to detail the government’s budgetary policy and economic priorities for the coming year.
The Senate Committee on Finance met with ministries, departments, and agencies in line with concluding work on the MTEF/FSP on Monday.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
