N’assembly passes 2024 budget, increases appropriation by over N1trn

The two arms of the national assembly on Saturday passed the 2024 appropriation bill, increasing its size from N27.5 trillion proposed by President Bola Tinubu to N28.7 trillion.

The budget size was increased by N1.2 trillion.

The bill was passed for the third reading at the senate after Solomon Olamilekan, chairman of the senate committee on appropriation, presented a report for consideration.

The budget has  N1.7 trillion as statutory transfers, N8.7 trillion as recurrent expenditure, and N9.9 trillion as capital expenditure.

The appropriation bill was also passed for a third reading by the lower legislative chamber after Abubakar Bichi, chairman of the committee on appropriations, presented a report.

While presenting his report, Bichi said a one-day town hall meeting where citizens made contributions to the money bill was held.

The lawmaker said the national assembly joint committee on appropriations worked closely with the executive on the budget.

JANUARY-DECEMBER BUDGET CIRCLE

Nigeria’s budget cycle, between 2016 and 2018, was bogged down by controversies owing to the late signing into law of the appropriation bills.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2017 budget to the national assembly in November of that year, but it was not passed until June 2018.

However, from 2019 to 2022, the legislative and the executive were able to maintain the January-December budget cycle.

In October, before Tinubu presented the proposal to the joint session of the national assembly, Bichi pledged the committee’s commitment to pass the budget before the end of the year.

“The committee will ensure the sustenance of the long-established and cherished precedent of ensuring compliance with the Financial Year Act through budget passage on or before 31 December of each financial year,” he had said.

“This development will no doubt make the budget implementation from January to December operational and achievable.”

When the president presented the money bill to the national assembly on November 29, he urged the legislators to ensure prompt passage of the budget to enable it passed before the new year.

Tinubu is expected to sign the budget on Sunday, before the new year.

Additional reporting by Samuel Akpan