President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted this budget to the National Assembly on Tuesday, and both the Senate and the House of Representatives expedited the process by suspending their relevant rules. The bill received approval for both the first and second readings and was subsequently referred to the Committees on Appropriation in both chambers. These committees worked diligently on Wednesday and presented their reports on Thursday, leading to approval.
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, explained that this swift passage was driven by several national interests. One key factor was the increase in fuel prices, which had led to rising costs of essential services and food items due to the withdrawal of fuel subsidies. Workers had staged strikes in response to these challenges, leading to negotiations between organized labor unions and the Federal Government. Ultimately, it was agreed that workers would receive an additional N35,000 on top of their minimum wage, a substantial sum incorporated into the supplementary budget.
Furthermore, concerns had arisen among parents of students in tertiary institutions due to tuition fee hikes. To address this issue, the Federal Government proposed providing loans to students in these institutions, resulting in an allocation of N5.5 billion in the supplementary budget. Both chambers of the National Assembly jointly agreed to increase this allocation to N10 billion, reallocating funds from the initially budgeted N5 billion for the Presidential Yacht, which was considered unnecessary at the moment.
Senator Ndume emphasized that the Senate had already acted on the N5 billion allocated for the Presidential Yacht before public outcry. The funds were reallocated to the Nigerian Navy to support their operations, particularly in combating oil bunkering and crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.
President Tinubu's commitment to ensuring that every state in the Federation benefits from capital projects in the Supplementary Budget was commended by Senator Ndume. Various allocations were also made, such as N300 billion to the Federal Ministry of Works, not for new road construction, but to enhance the motorability of existing roads during the dry season. Each geopolitical zone received N8 billion to improve roads in their areas, and N8 billion was allocated to facilitate the establishment of new ministries created under the Tinubu-led administration.
The budget also included N18 billion for off-cycle elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states on November 11, with N20 billion earmarked for the Nigerian Police Force, which will oversee the elections. Additional allocations were made to the Nigerian Army to cover special duty allowances for soldiers on field duty, as well as N100 billion for the housing sector to address urban housing deficits.
The budget also allocated N28 billion to the State House, with these funds designated for maintaining presidential aircraft. It's crucial to ensure these aircraft remain operational to avoid grounding them. Senator Ndume concluded that the Senate was satisfied with the government's explanations for these allocations.
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