Reps pass bill to raise 2024 Budget to N35.06tn
The House of Representatives passed a supplementary bill on Tuesday that seeks to increase the 2024 Appropriation Act from N28.7 trillion to N35.06 trillion.On Wednesday, July 17, the House passed President Bola Tinubu's N6.2 trillion extra-budgetary plan, and on Tuesday, the measure advanced to the third reading, with Clauses 1-13 examined and approved by the Committee of Supply.
A breakdown of the proposed N35.06 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year revealed that N1.74 trillion is set aside for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt service, N11.2 trillion for recurrent expenditure, and N13.77 trillion as a contribution to the Development Fund for capital expenditure for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
Leading the debate on the bill's general principles, Abubakar Bichi, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, who delivered the harmonised joint Senate and House budget report, begged for the committee's recommendations to be adopted.
Addressing journalists shortly after the budget was enacted, Bichi stated, "As you can see, we have passed the N6.2 trillion budget of Mr President, the budget of Renewed Nope."
"N3.2 trillion is set aside for capital expenditure, while around N3 trillion would be allocated to current spending. And, as I have stated, the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway is vital road infrastructure that Mr. President wishes to implement.
"The Lagos-Calabar highway spans nine states and is approximately 700 kilometres long. Additionally, the Sokoto-Badagry highway is critical, traversing around seven states.
It covers over 1,000 kilometers. We have another one from Ebonyi, all the way from Abuja in the Trans-Saharan area. We need some funds to carry out these critical tasks."
He also stated that important rail projects traveling through Abuja, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina to Maradi in the Niger Republic will be paid from the budget.
He stated that the parliament is ready to engage the various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure that the budget is fully implemented.
He continued, "We consulted with both the Minister of Budget and the implementation agencies - the Ministers of Transportation, Works, and Water Resources. They guaranteed that as long as we pass this budget, the implementation will be 100%.
“We had an engagement with the Minister of Budget and National Planning and she confirmed that the funding is there and the projects will commence.”
On whether the N3tn approved for the payment of the N70,000 minimum is enough, Bichi said, “Absolutely, we did our calculations. We got the data from the Accountant General of the Federation’s office before we applied this figure.
“We know that the money is enough from now till December 31 to take care of the N70,000 minimum. Nigeria should be expecting dividends of democracy.”
He also stated that important rail projects traveling through Abuja, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina to Maradi in the Niger Republic will be paid from the budget.
He stated that the parliament is ready to engage the various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure that the budget is fully implemented.
He continued, "We consulted with both the Minister of Budget and the implementation agencies - the Ministers of Transportation, Works, and Water Resources. They guaranteed that as long as we pass this budget, the implementation will be 100%.
“We had an engagement with the Minister of Budget and National Planning and she confirmed that the funding is there and the projects will commence.”
On whether the N3tn approved for the payment of the N70,000 minimum is enough, Bichi said, “Absolutely, we did our calculations. We got the data from the Accountant General of the Federation’s office before we applied this figure.
“We know that the money is enough from now till December 31 to take care of the N70,000 minimum. Nigeria should be expecting dividends of democracy.”
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