Following President Tinubu’s transmission of N2, 176,791,286,033 Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, the House of Representatives has began its budget defense with agencies of government.
The Committee on Appropriation, led by Hon Abubakar Bichi, played host to Service Chiefs and some ministers who appeared to defend their budgets.
All agencies are expected to appear and give account of the previous appropriations and plans for new allocation.
The Chairman, House committee on appropriation, Hon Abubakar Bichi, said that the Bill has been specifically structured to improve the country’s security, food security, and critical road infrastructure sectors and to bridge the housing deficit in the country, including slum upgrades and urban renewal.
He said that it would also support the provisional wage to workers and cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians. It will also cater to the upcoming off-cycle elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States.
“The Bill has been specifically structured to improve the country’s security, food security, and critical road infrastructure sectors and to bridge the housing deficit in the country, including slum upgrades and urban renewal.
It will also support the provisional wage to workers and cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians, and used to fund the upcoming off-cycle elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States.
The summary is as follows –
S/N
MDA
RECURRENT
CAPITAL
TOTAL
1
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
215,937,945,659
260,605,901,762
476,543,847,421
2
POLICE FORMATIONS AND COMMAND
29,661,660,269
20,338,339,731
50,000,000,000
3
FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY ADMINISTRATION
–
100,000,000,000
100,000,000,000
4
OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
27,402,410,057
2,298,196,859
29,700,606,916
5
DEPARTMENT OF STATE SERVICES
–
49,046,831,697
49,046,831,697
6
STATE HOUSE
–
28,000,000,000
28,000,000,000
7
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS
–
300,000,000,000
300,000,000,000
8
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY
104,800,000,000
95,200,000,000
200,000,000,000
9
MINISTRY OF HOUSING
–
100,000,000,000
100,000,000,000
10
SERVICE-WIDE VOTE
615,000,000,000
–
615,000,000,000
11
CAPITAL SUPPLEMENTATION
–
210,500,000,000
210,500,000,000
12
INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC)
18,000,000,000
18,000,000,000
TOTAL
1,010,802,015,985
1,165,989,270,049
2,176,791,286,033” Hon Bichi said.
Bichi said that the committee invited the relevant MDAs to defend and shed more light on their submissions.
Five ministers, all the service chiefs, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu and the Director General of the State Services were at the defense.
Infrastructure
The minister of Works, Mr. Dave Umeahi, while defending the ministry’s 2023 supplementary bugdet said that the budget will go into fixing of Nigerian roads to avoid accidents, kidnappings and other road menace.
He said that Nigeria needs eighteen point six trillion naira to fix her road infrastructures in the next four years.
According to the minister who warned against the engagement of contactors without full budgetary appropriation for road infrastructure also advocated for the creation of a contingent fund to help meet motions on road interventions.
Also speaking before the committee, the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, who decried that insecurity, climatic changes and desertification are a big challenge to farmlands, stressed the need for the subsidisation of fertilizers which he said are beyond the reach of poor farmers at the moment.
Security
Similarly, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, said the ministry has earmarked three point four billion naira for security vehicles to help curb the rising incessant menace of one chance in the nation’s capital.
According to the FCT Minister, the three point four billion naira will be used to procure vehicles for all the security agencies in the territory to assist their functions of safety and security.
Minster Wike, also added that with the supplementary budget, it hopes to complete and conclude all on-going road infrastructure works in the territory before the commencement of the next rainy season.
The 2.1 trillion naira bill has been specifically structured to improve the country’s security, food security, and critical road infrastructure sectors and to bridge the housing deficit in the country, amongst others.
Journalists were excused for the military chiefs to defend their budgets.
