Posted by Before the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, a few members of President Bola Tinubu's cabinet and Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), defended the N2.177 trillion supplemental budget.
Minister of Works David Umahi, Minister of Defense Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Alhaji Abubakar Kyari, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike are among those that spoke before the committee.
Others are, among others, Yusuf Bichi, the Director of the Department of State Service, and service chiefs.
Abubakar Bichi, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, stated during the budget defense that the N2,176,791,286,033 Supplementary Appropriations Bill was intended to improve food, security, road and bridge construction, and address the housing deficit. It was sent to the National Assembly earlier this week.
According to Bichi, the budget was “specifically structured to bridge the housing deficit in the country, including slum upgrades and urban renewal, and to improve the country's security, food security, and critical road infrastructure sectors.”
Additionally, it will help poor Nigerians receive cash transfers and workers' provisional wages. Additionally, it will support the next off-cycle elections in the states of Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo,” he claimed.
The legislator pointed out that of the 476,543,847,421 that is being requested for the Ministry of Defence, N260,605,901,762 is intended for capital expenditure and N215,937,945,659 is for recurrent spending.
He stated that of the N200 billion that is being proposed for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, N95.200 billion is intended for capital expenditures and N104.800 billion for ongoing costs.
N29,661,660,269 of the N50 billion allocated for police formations and commands is for recurrent spending, and N20,338,339,731 is for capital spending.
The office of the National Security Adviser is scheduled to get N29,700,606,916 in total. Of that amount, N27,402,410,057 is for recurrent spending and N2,298,196,859 is for capital expenditure.
N100 billion was also suggested for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA); N49,046,831,697 for the Department of State Services (DSS); N28 billion for the State House; N300 billion for the Federal Ministry of Works; N100 billion for the Federal Ministry of Housing; N615 billion for the service-wide vote; N210.500 for capital supplementation; and N18 billion for the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). Additional funding requests totaled N300 billion.
“The pertinent MDAs have been invited to defend and provide more context for their submissions. We will compile our findings into a report at the conclusion of the hearing and return it to the House.
“I've separated this into two sections: the non-security agencies will come first, and then we'll move on to the security agencies' executive section,” Bichi stated.
Speaker Muktar Aliyu Betara, the Chairman of the House Committee on the Federal Constitution, revealed that of the N300 billion sought for the Free Trade Area of the Caricom, the Executive only provided N100 billion to the National Assembly.
He also said that N200 billion will be collected and taken into account for the budget defense in 2024.