The Senate has passed the 2022 Appropriation Bill for second reading after over one hour of debate on its general principles.

Last Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari had presented a N16.39trillion budget proposal for the 2022 fiscal year.

Contributing to the debate, Senate Minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe said the federal government needs to curb what he described as a “borrowing spree”.

The lawmakers who contributed to the debate expressed concerns over the increasing fiscal deficit and the government’s continued borrowing to fund capital projects.

While some defended the borrowings, which the executive said were to build the much-needed infrastructure, others advocated Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as an alternative to loans.

Speaking at the end of the debate on the budget, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said loans are not bad as long as they are used for what they are earmarked for. The senate president said the national assembly should be able to pass the budget before December.