The Nigerian Senate has passed the 2024 Appropriation Bill after they increased the budget from the ₦27.5 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu to ₦28.7 trillion.
The upper legislative chamber increased the proposed budget with about ₦1.2 trillion.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the passage of the bill followed the approval of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriation at plenary on Saturday.
While presenting the report, Senator Solomon Adeola said that the committee adopted the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Paper, MTEF/FSP, approved by National Assembly in preparing the budget.
He stated the committee adopted the 77.96 dollar per barrel oil benchmark 1.78mbpd and 800 dollar exchange rate to naira as against 750 dollars proposed by the executive.
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He listed the highlights of the bill to include a total aggregate expenditure of ₦28.7 trillion, statutory transfers of ₦1.7 trillion, and recurrent expenditure of ₦8.7 trillion, while the capital expenditure component stood at ₦9.9 trillon.
According to him, the committee in processing the bill worked closely with the executive.
He said through the harmonious appropriation process, the executive forwarded request for additional funding of some items on expenditure that were not included in the bill as submitted by the President.
He, however said that the committee observed that the 2024 Appropriation Bill was presented to the National Assembly late.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has expressed optimism, affirming his belief in a promising future for Nigeria despite the challenges democracy has encountered in the past.
In his statement, the President underscored the need for a progressive and inclusive democracy, with a central emphasis on effectively tackling poverty through the creation of job opportunities for the youth and ensuring quality education for every Nigerian child.
President Tinubu, while meeting with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) in Lagos, voiced his backing for the party’s initiative in establishing the National Institute of Progressive Studies.
The President highlighted that the Institute is tasked with conducting thorough research and educating all party members on democratic principles and good governance, ultimately establishing a distinct identity for the party.