The National Assembly on Thursday passed the N10.59 trillion budget for the 2020 fiscal year into law with an increment of N264 billion from the N10.33 trillion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The approval of the budget by the Senate followed the adoption of the report of Senate Committee on Appropriation at plenary on Thursday.
Presenting the report, Senator Barau Jibrin said the increase of N264bn in the budget is to allow for interventions in critical areas such as national security, road infrastructure, mines and steel development, health, social needs, and water among others.
According to him, N560.4bn was earmarked for statutory transfers while N2.725 trillion stood for local and foreign debts service.
He noted that recurrent expenditure, that is, non-debt, stood at N4.842 trillion while the sum of N2.465 trillion is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital expenditure for the 2020 fiscal year.
The 2020 Appropriation Bill was passed in the House of Representatives after clause by clause consideration of the report of the Appropriation Committee by the Committee of Supply chaired by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Muktar Betera while presenting the report stated that the National Assembly of Nigeria has authorized the issue and appropriation of N10, 594, 362, 364, 830 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for 2020.
He said the 2020 Appropriation Act authorized: “the Accountant-General of the Federation shall, when authorized to do so by Warrants signed by the Minister charged with responsibility for finance, pay out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation during the year ending on the 31 day of December 2020, the sums specified by the warrants, not exceeding in the aggregate N10,594,362,364,830 only”.
Under the statutory transfers National Judicial Council has been allocated, N110 billion, Niger-Delta Development Commission N80. 88 billion.
Universal Basic Education N111.78 billion and National Assembly got N128 billion.
Also, Public Complaints Commission has been allocated N 4.7 billion, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) N40 billion, National Human Rights Commission N2.5 billion, North East Development Commission N38.10 billion and Basic Health Care Fund, N44.49 billion.
Out of the N2.72 trillion for Debt Service, Domestic Debts gulped N1.73 trillion and Foreign Debts took N719.88 billion while Sinking Fund to Retire Maturing Loans is allocated N272 .90 billion.
James Kwen & Solomon Ayado, Abuja
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