By Fatima Saka
The Senate has approved a 6.2 trillion naira adjustment to the 2024 appropriation act, elevating the 2024 budget from 28.7 trillion naira to 35.055 trillion naira.
The amendment for capital and recurrent expenditures included provisions for vital infrastructure projects excluded in the 2024 appropriation act and the recently ratified national minimum wage.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Atiku Bagudu, elucidated that the supplementary budget would be allocated to remunerate the freshly endorsed minimum wage.
Bagudu expounded on this while addressing a House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation in Abuja.
He articulated that the funds would be allocated towards invigorating the economy through the execution of various infrastructural projects.
These endeavors encompass road, rail, water, irrigation, and dam projects in the 2024 fiscal year with judicious utilization of the funds.
He divulged that 3 trillion naira would be earmarked for the new national minimum wage, now enshrined in law by the Senate.
Bagudu stated that the budget amendment also aimed to provide matching funds for rail projects that had been at a standstill, notably the extensive Port Harcourt Main Bridge spanning numerous states throughout the country.
The minister highlighted the Badagry-Tin Can Port, Lekki Port, Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge, and Kano-Marada Standard Gauge projects as part of the rail funding initiative.
He specified that there would be provisions for rolling stock necessary for the five rail projects, amounting to 530 billion naira.
Bagudu also allocated 522 billion naira for water, irrigation, and dam projects, emphasizing that the proposed 3.2 trillion naira infrastructural fund was intended to provide equity contributions.
He assured that the projects outlined in the amendment to the 2024 Appropriation Bill would not constrain the revenue available for the implementation of the 2024 Appropriation Act.
Representative Abubakar Bichi, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, had earlier urged the Minister to expound on the Appropriation Bill, including the 3.2 trillion naira capital expenditure augmentation.
Bichi underscored the necessity for Nigerian citizens to be adequately informed about the specifics of the proposed 6.2 trillion naira budget in addition to the 28.7 trillion naira appropriation Act for the 2024 fiscal year.
The Committee implored the Federal Government to address the infrastructural shortfall and security concerns.
In response, Bagudu mentioned that various measures were being undertaken to tackle security issues across the nation.
Among the projects outlined in the supplementary budget are the Lagos-Calabar 1,000-kilometer road project requiring 150 billion naira.
The Sokoto-Badagry road projects and rail project, for which the Chinese government has pledged 85 percent funding while the Federal Government is yet to provide the 15 percent counterpart financing.
Bagudu indicated that the Lagos-Calabar project, which is set to commence in different sections, has already started in Lagos, Calabar, and one additional section, Sokoto-Calabar.
He added that the Lagos-Calabar project also encompasses the five Southeast States as well as the Port Harcourt and Maiduguri rail lines.
