By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written a letter to the Senate, requesting an increase in the 2024 appropriation act by N6.2 trillion.
The President in the letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is seeking an increase of the 2024 appropriation act from N28.7 trillion to N34.9 trillion.
The Senate President made this known while reading Tinubu’s letter on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Wednesday.
Akpabio said Tinubu in the letter proposed allocating N3.2 trillion for infrastructure projects and N3 trillion for recurrent expenditure.
The letter reads in part: “Under section 58 (2) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, I forward herewith the above-named bills for consideration and passage by the senate.
“The appropriation act amendment bill seeks to amend the principal act to provide the sum of N3,200,000,000,000 for Renewed Hope Infrastructure Projects and other critical infrastructure projects to be undertaken across the country and the sum of N3,000,000,000,000 to meet further recurrent expenditure requirements necessary for the proper operation of the federal government.
“They shall be funded by accruing to the federal government of Nigeria,” Tinubu said.
The New Diplomat reports that in January 2024, the National Assembly passed the 2024 appropriation bill, raising its size from Tinubu’s proposed N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
The budget was increased by N1.2 trillion. In the appropriation act, the sum of N1.74 trillion was earmarked for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt servicing, N8.76 for recurrent expenditure and N9.99 trillion for capital expenditure.
