The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is currently presenting the 2021 Appropriation Bill before the parliament today, October 8.
Officers of the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Federal Road Safety Corps and sergeants-at-arms, were present at the venue to man strategic points.
The ceremony began at 11 am.
While shops and other private businesses including banks and restaurants are closed for the day, only a few workers are allowed in.
They are to wear a special accreditation tag along with their identity cards.
Those allowed to enter, including journalists, have their names confirmed on the lists provided at three points.
Only journalists from television stations, who will broadcast the event live, are allowed into the House of Representatives chamber.
The National Assembly will be funded with N128 billion in 2021.
This is as the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), admitted that the Federal Government is spending more on recurrent expenditure.
Buhari, while presenting the 2021 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday, noted that personnel cost is still the largest component of budget expenditure.
The President blamed this on non-existent personnel (ghost workers) and unauthorised allowances introduced by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
He, therefore, ordered heads of the MDAs to get approval before any recruitment.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, had said the National Assembly is ready to pass the 2021 Appropriation Bill before the end of 2020.
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