Nigerians’ urgency prompted us to fast-track N2.17trn supplementary budget approval, Senate admits

The National Assembly considered the plight of Nigerians and gave speedy approval to the N2.17 trillion Supplementary Appropriation Bill, the Senate has said.

Senator Ali Ndume, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, said this in a chat with newsmen in Abuja on Saturday.

He said that passing the budget within 48 hours was a patriotic duty.

The appropriation bill was submitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, and the National Assembly suspended some of its rules to fast-track its passage.

The bill passed the first and second readings and was referred to the Appropriations Committees of both chambers.

The report of the joint committee was presented, considered, and approved within 48 hours.

Ndume explained the rationale behind the quick passage of the budget, saying, “The withdrawal of fuel subsidies has led to an increase in the prices of fuel, essential services, and food items in the country.

“Workers went on strike several times because of this, and there were negotiations between the organised labour unions and the Federal Government.

“The outcome of the negotiations was that workers would receive N35,000 as an addition to their minimum wage.

“This amount is huge when multiplied by the over 1.5 million workers. The money was captured in the supplementary budget.

“The Federal Government also came up with the brilliant idea of giving loans to students in tertiary institutions after the hike in tuition fees caused agitation among parents of students. The supplementary budget allocated N5.5 billion for this purpose.”

Ndume also revealed how the N5 billion earmarked for the purchase of the Presidential Yacht was moved to the student loan component, saying, “The two chambers of the National Assembly met on it, and we agreed to increase it to N10 billion.

“This was because our colleagues from the House of Representatives argued that the provision of N5bn for the procurement of the presidential yacht was not a priority at the moment.

“We added the yacht money to the initial N5 billion for student loans, which increased it to N10 billion.

“We had already removed the N5 billion for the yacht from the budget before the public outcry.

“It is not true that the Senate ignored the N5bn for the yacht. We had harmonised with the House of Representatives before the joint appropriation committee of both chambers prepared and presented their reports. It was even signed by the two chairmen.

“The Navy asked us to forget about the yacht and pleaded with us to allow them to have the N5 billion to boost their operations, especially in the areas of fighting oil bunkering and crude theft in the Niger Delta, and we immediately told them to use their operational funds for that purpose.

“The supplementary budget also provided N8 billion for the takeoff of the new ministries that were created by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration. It is very important for them to get certain things put on the ground to start working.

“There was also a provision of N8bn in the Ministry of Agriculture that was meant for the purchase of grains as palliatives to encourage farmers to engage in dry-season farming so as to ensure food security.

“Besides, the Senate considered that the Independent National Electoral Commission has its off-cycle elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states on November 11, and N18bn was allocated for that purpose in the supplementary budget. They needed to access the funds for the proper conduct of the polls.

“The Nigeria Police Force is supposed to oversee the election, and it would need more personnel; hence, the sum of N20 billion was set aside for that purpose.

The Senate explained that the N2.17 trillion Supplementary Appropriation Bill also included funds for the Nigerian Army, the housing sector, the Federal Ministry of Works, the State House, and the geopolitical zones.

Senator Ali Ndume, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, said that the Nigerian Army needed more money to pay duty allowance to the soldiers on the field who are deployed in all the states of the federation. He said that each soldier receives a minimum of N5, 000 per day, which is a huge amount of money.

He also said that the housing sector received N100bn to address the problem of housing shortages in most urban areas of the country. He said that the government’s intention was to provide affordable housing for Nigerians.

He added that the Federal Ministry of Works got N300 billion, not for the construction of new roads but to make the existing roads motorable. He said that this was the opportunity to do so now that the dry season has started.

He further said that the National Assembly did not get any provision in the budget and that each geopolitical zone in the country got N8 billion to fix roads in their areas.

He also disclosed that the State House got N28 billion, which was mainly for the maintenance of the presidential fleet. He said that the aircraft are serviced abroad in dollars and that President Bola Tinubu did not buy any new aircraft. He said that he inherited all of them and has to maintain them; otherwise, they would be grounded.

He said that the Senate asked questions as members of the nation’s parliament, and they were satisfied with the answers provided.