Senate Justifies Passage of N2.17trn Supplementary Budget Within 48 Hours

* Red Chamber Holds Emergency Session Monday

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

Despite the public outcry, the Senate has explained that the two chambers of the National Assembly speedily passed the N2.17 trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill within 48 hours in national interest.

The Chief Whip of the Senate, who is also the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Ali Ndume, gave the explanation in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Saturday.

His explanation came just as the spokesperson for the red chamber, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, confirmed to journalists on Saturday that there would be an emergency session on Monday to approve the votes and proceedings of Thursday’s plenary where the bill was passed.

Adaramodu said the passage of the votes and proceedings was to enable the National Assembly transmit the fiscal document to the president for assent.

THISDAY reports that the budget was submitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.

The two chambers instantly adjusted their standing rules to ensure that the bill passed first and second reading on that day.

It was refered to the Committees on Appropriation in the two chambers and members had only Wednesday to study it and invite heads of ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government to defend their estimates in the document.

Heads of the nation’s security agencies and the service chiefs were also attended to behind closed doors on the same day.

The committees presented their joint report at plenary in the two chambers the following day (Thursday) and it was deliberated upon and approved without contributions from members on the floor.

However, Ndume told journalists that the National Assembly accelerated the budget passage in the interest of the country.

He argued that the federal parliament was convinced that the items in the fiscal document would sufficiently serve the purpose of cushioning the current effects of fuel subsidy removal.

He also cited the need to pay the wage award to workers, the take-off of the students loan scheme and the need to ensure the smooth running of newly created ministries as reasons for the speedy passage of the bill.

He said: “The increases of prices of fuel, costs of essential services and food items have gone up in the country following the withdrawal of fuel subsidy. 

“Workers embarked on strike many times as a result of this and there were negotiations between the organised labour and the Federal Government.

“At the end of the negotiations, Labour and the Federal Government agreed that workers would be paid N35,000 in addition to their minimum wage. 

“If N35,000 is paid to each of the over 1.5 million workers and the money was captured in the supplementary budget, it is imperative for us to approve it for immediate implementation. 

“There were also agitations among parents of students in tertiary institutions following the increment in the tuition fees and the Federal Government came up with a wonderful idea of giving loans to students in tertiary institutions hence provision of N5.5 billion was made in the supplementary budget for that purpose also. 

“The two chambers of the National Assembly met on it and we both agreed to jack it up to N10 billion. This is because our members from the House of Representatives argued that the provision of N5 billion made for the procurement of the presidential yacht was not necessary at the moment. 

“It was the yacht money that we added to the initial N5 billion provided for students loan which jacked it up to N10 billion.

“We had already acted on the N5 billion provided for the presidential yacht and removed it from the budget before the public outcry.

“It is not true that the Senate was silent on the N5 billion provided for the yacht. We had harmonised with the House of Representatives before the joint appropriation committee of both chambers prepared and presented their reports. It was even signed by the two chairmen. 

“The only thing was that the Navy asked us to forget about the yacht and pleaded with us to allow them have the N5 billion so as to enhance their operations especially in the areas of fighting illegal oil bunkering and crude theft in the Niger Delta and we immediately told them to utilise their operational funds for that purpose. 

“There is also the provision of N8 billion for the takeoff of the new ministries that were created by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration. It is very important for them to get certain things on ground to start working. 

“A particular amount of money was also provided in the Ministry of Agriculture budget which was meant for the purchase of grains as palliatives to encourage farmers to engage in dry season farming so as to guarantee food security.

“Apart from this, the Senate considered that since the Independent National Electoral Commission has its off cycle elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States on November 11, and N18 billion was captured for that purpose in the supplementary budget, they needed to access the funds for proper conduct of the polls.

“The Nigeria Police Force is supposed to supervise the election and it would need more personnel hence the sum of N20 billion was earmarked for that purpose.

“The Nigerian Army would also need additional money to pay duty allowances to the soldiers on the field who are currently engaged in all the states of the federation. Each of them is being paid a minimum of N5,000 per day. It is not a small amount of money at all.

“Another item captured in the budget is in the housing sector which got N100 billionn. The thinking of the government is that it will tackle the challenge of housing deficits in most urban areas in the country.

“There is also the N300 billion allocated to the Federal Ministry of Works. It was not for the construction of new roads but to make the existing roads motorable. This is the opportunity to do so now that we are already in the dry season. 

“There is no single provision for the National Assembly and we ensure that each geopolitical zone in the country got N8 billion to fix roads in their areas.

“The sum of N28 billion was allocated to the State House. The funds allocated for the presidential fleet was for the maintenance of the aircraft which are serviced abroad in dollars. 

“President Bola Tinubu did not buy a single aircraft. He inherited all of them and he has to maintain them otherwise if he skips their maintenance the aircraft would all be grounded.

“We asked questions as members of the nation’s parliament and we were satisfied with the answers provided by the executive arm of government.”