The House of Representatives on Monday said the N7.29tn budgeted for 2017 will be thoroughly reviewed by the National Assembly.

Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas said the lawmakers will ensure that the crisis that hit the 2016 budget does not repeat itself.

He also said the budget will remain just a proposal until the review was carried out.

Namdas said, “We have received the budget proposals from Mr. President. We now have a duty as lawmakers to look at the items one after another.

“The first step is that every member will get copies of the budget to study and this will assist them in pointing out key areas for the attention of the House.

“As soon as we reconvene in January, work on the details of the budget will begin.”

He added, “N7.29tn is a huge amount; increasing it is not likely the way to go.

“However, the budget is the document eventually passed by the National Assembly.

“Nigerians should be patient till we reconvene in January.”