Both chambers of the National Assembly Tuesday amended the N28.7.trillion 2024 Appropriation Act by jerking the total expenditure profile of the budget to N33.055 trillion as requested for, by President Bola Tinubu.
President Tinubu had last week, in an executive communication to the National Assembly, sought for approval on amendment of the N28.7trillion 2024 budget signed into law on the 1st of January, 2024 to N33.055 trillion.
President Tinubu in the request, specifically sought for withdrawal of N3.2 trillion from the consolidated revenue fund as additional capital expenditure and N3 trillion as additional recurrent expenditure, totaling N6.2 trillion.
But both chambers of the National Assembly on the strength of reports separately presented by their committees on appropriations, approved N35.055 trillion as amended aggregate expenditure profile for 2024 budget.
Highlights of the amended budget, as presented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon OlanilekanAdeola (APC Ogun West), and adopted by the Senate are; N1.742 trillion for statutory transfer and N8.270 trillion for debt service.
Others are N11.268 trillion for recurrent non – debt expenditure, N13.773trillion for contribution to development fund for the capital expenditure for the year ending 31st December, 2024.
The committee in the report said objective of the upwardly reviewed Appropriation Bill, seeks to among others, make available additional funds for Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Projects, to be undertaken across the country and to meet other recurrent expenditure requirements, such as the minimum wage increase necessary for effective governance of the federation.
On revenue projections, the committee in the report said the additional expenditure contained in the Amendment Bill, will be financed by the one-time windfall tax on banks’ foreign exchange profits for the year 2023 as approved by the National Assembly.
Sect orally, under recurrent expenditure component of the budget, contingency recurrent has the highest vote of N2.536 trilliin, followed by the Ministry of Defence which has a sum of N1.308trillion proposed for it.
Others are the Ministry of Police Affairs, N869.120 billion, Ministry of Education N857billion, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare N667.577billion, National Social Investment Programme Agency, N200 billion etc.
Under the capital expenditure component, the Ministry of Works has the highest projected sum of N1 404trillion, followed by the Ministry of Agriculture and food security with a projected sum of N 1.334 trillion.
Others are the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, N486.456 billion, Ministry of Education, N431 829billion, Ministry of Finance N353. 949billion, Ministry of Power N264.265billion, Aids and Grants funded projects N685. 632billion, Contingency (Capital) N200 billion, Zonal Intervention Projects N100 billion etc.