Senate approves N2.1tr supplementary budget,

…As Reps move N5bn ‘Presidential Yacht’ allocation to Students Loan Budget

By Abiodun OBA

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s 2023, N2.1 trillion supplementary budget for the 2023 fiscal year moving N5bn ‘Presidential Yacht’ allocation to Students Loan Budget.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, hit the gavel announcing the approval after putting the report to a voice vote by Senators.

This was a sequel to the adoption and debate of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriations during Thursday’s plenary.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan, had laid the committee’s report which was adopted and debated before Akpabio put it to voice vote and Senators across party lines voted in favour.

meanwhile, the House of Representatives moved the proposed allocation for the procurement of a Presidential Yacht to the student loan policy of the Federal Government, thereby increasing it from N5.5billion loan to N10billion in the 2023 supplementary budget.

The chairman, House Appropriations Committee, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, made this known on Thursday while addressing journalists shortly after the approval of the supplementary budget.

“As far as we are concerned, we don’t have that presidential yacht anymore. We have increased the student loan (budget).

“If you recall, the student loan was N5billion in the budget, but we have increased it to N10billion,” he said.

Recall, the federal government had proposed an allocation of N5.095 billion for the acquisition of a presidential yacht in the proposed 2023 supplementary budget.

However, Bichi said the Committee also increased budgetary allocation of Ministry of Defence from N476 billion to N546 billion following security concerns.

He also disclosed that the minimum wage for workers was considered and approved for onward transmission to the executive arm of government while promising proper legislative oversight to ensure 100 per cent implementation.

Earlier, the House approved the N2.18trillion supplementary budget for the 2023 fiscal year requested by the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government.

This followed the consideration and approval of the report of the Committee on Appropriations by the Committee of Supply chaired by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen at plenary on Thursday.

The report tilted: “A Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N2,176,791,286,033 for the year ending 31 December 2023 (HB. 765)”, was laid and presented by the Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi.

President Tinubu had in a letter read on the floor of the House by Speaker Tajudeen on Tuesday requested for the speedy passage of the 2023 supplementary appropriation bill to enable the federal government finance additional palliative measures and other projects.

Consequently, the Money Bill was considered for second reading and it was passed and referred to the Committee on Appropriations for further legislative action.

The Appropriations Committee on Wednesday held budget defence with the Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi; Minister of Defence, Hon. Abubakar Badaru; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari; the Director General Department of State Service, Yusuf Bichi; FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and all the Service Chiefs, among others.

Out of the total of N2.18 trillion, approved N18 billion is for statutory transfers, N992.802 billion is for Recurrent (non-debt) expenditure while the sum of N1.165 trillion, one hundred and sixty-five billion is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure.