By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
The Senate has announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will send the 2024 supplementary budget, estimated at about N6.6 trillion to the National Assembly for consideration and
approval upon its resumption on July 2,2024
According to the Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the supplementary budget is still being computed by the Executive arm. He said:?“The budget would be sent any time we resume after the Sallah recess. I believe the bill and other important executive communications will be sent to the National Assembly when we resume in July,”
When asked about the budget size and its allocation for the coastal road project, he confirmed, “The budget size is N6.6 trillion.”
The New Diplomat reports that the May 29th speech rendered by Tinubu to the joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives at the National Assembly complex, had announced that the government would soon present a supplementary budget for the 2024 fiscal year, saying, “I will soon bring the 2024 Supplementary Appropriation Bill; that is just for your information.”
It would be recalled that the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, had revealed during a briefing with the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs that the supplementary budget was still in preparation.
Bagudu explained that the supplementary budget would fund four key transformational projects, stating, “The supplementary budget that was announced, or rather was mentioned, came about when Mr. President presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council. In the memo, he said that he inherited the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, which was domiciled in the National Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority.”
The Minister further elaborated on the identified projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, the proposed Sokoto-Badagry Road, and the completion of ongoing railway projects lacking counterpart funding.
Additionally, the Federal Government also plans to allocate funds for the rehabilitation and expansion of dams and irrigation schemes to support increased production within the economy, and additional funds will support CNG and LNG, he added.
“The three roads, dams and irrigation, and railways are what Mr. President designated as the infrastructure, renewed health infrastructure priority items.so, that is what he directed that the ministry prepare in the supplementary appropriation bill, “ Bagudu noted.
Bagudu had also mentioned that the bill had not yet been finalized or submitted to the Federal Executive Council. “So many people have approached the ministry and indeed leadership of the National Assembly, as well as many members, asking about the renewed hope in the supplementary appropriation,” he added.
