National Assembly Passes N6.2trn 2024 Appropriation Bill

*Defence, agric, take lion share 

*Okays amendments to Finance Act

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The two chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday passed the N6.2trn 2024 Appropriation Act (Amendment Bill) 2024.

The money bill was transmitted to the federal parliament on Wednesday July 17th 2024, by President Bola Tinubu.

It was meant to provide for the sum of N6,222,595,926,139.

Out of the amount, the sum of N3, 222,595,926,139.00 was meant  for Capital Expenditure and the sum of N3,000,000,000,000.00 is for Recurrent Expenditure.

While the N3.2trn is meat to fund legacy projects, and other sectors of the economy, the other N3trn is expected to fund the new minimum wage of N70,000.

The two chambers had last week,  suspended their rules to accommodate the first and second reading and referred it to the Committee on Appropriations for further legislative action. 

Leading the debate on the legislation at the committee of supply on Tuesday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Adeola, reminded his colleagues that the N28,777,404,073,861 2024 Appropriation Bill was passed into law by the National Assembly, last year and was subsequently assented to by the President on  January, 1, 2024. 

Adeola said, “The 2024 Appropriation Act (Amendment) Bill seeks to among others, make available additional funds for Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Projects, to be undertaken across the country and to meet other recurrent expenditure requirements, such as the minimum wage increase necessary for effective governance of the Federation.

“Considering the fact that the Committee was mandated to report back to the Senate on the Bill within one week, the Senate Committee on Appropriations consulted widely with the leadership of the Committee and other critical stakeholders. 

“More significantly, it met and deliberated with the Hon. Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu and deliberated on the scope of the Bill, as well as, it’s source of funding the projects. 

“Subsequently, the Committee processed the Bill together with its House 

counterpart, in line with relevant rules of legislative practice and procedures.”

Adeola said the Committee observed the need to provide the government equity component of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Projects and other critical projects to be undertaken across the country and other recurrent expenditure requirements, like the provision for the new minimum wage, among others, which necessitated the request for the Amendment of the 2024 Appropriation Act. 

He said the additional expenditure contained in the Amendment Bill would be financed by the one-time windfall tax on banks’ foreign exchange profits for the year 2023 as approved by the National Assembly. 

The Committee recommended the authorization and issuance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of  the Federation,  the sum of N35,055,536,770,218 

He said,  N1,742, 786,788,150 would be for  Statutory Transfers, N8,270,960,606,831  for Debt Service, and 11,268,513,380,853 for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure.

Adeola added that  the sum of N13,773,275,994,384 would be for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2024

None of the senator expressed objection to the bill and the Senate dissolved to the Committee of Supply to discuss the clause by clause consideration of the Bill.

In the sectoral under recurrent expenditure component of the budget , Contingency recurrent has the highest vote of N2.536trilliin , followed by  the Ministry of Defence which has sum of N1.308trillion proposed for it. 

Others are  the Ministry of Police Affairs,  N869.120billion , Ministry of Education N857billion , Ministry of Health and Social Welfare N667.577billion , National Social Investment Programme Agency , N200billion etc .

Under the capital expenditure component , the Ministry of  Works has the highest projected sum of N1 404trillion , followed by Ministry of  Agriculture and food security with projected sum of N1.334trillion .

Others are Ministry of Health and Social Welfare , N486.456billion , Ministry of Education , N431. 829billion , Ministry of Finance N353.949billion , Ministry of Power N264.265billion , Aids and Grants funded projects N685 . 632billion , Contingency ( capital ) N200billion , Zonal Intervention Projects N100billion etc

Also on Tuesday the National Assembly passed the Finance Act targeted at the funds which accrued to the Nigerian banks since the commencement of the new current forex regime in the country.

The federal parliament however said the implementation would take effect from when the forex regime started during the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The Federal Government recommended the sharing of the windfall at 50-50 but the National Assembly approved a sharing formula of 70-30 percent in favour of the Federation.

The passage followed the adoption of the report of the National Assembly joint committee on Finance chaired by the duo of Senator Sani Musa and Hon. James Faleke.

The Joint Committee observed that the banks enjoyed windfall as a result of exchange rate unification policy of the Federal Government. 

The panel noted that the windfall was as a result of Forex  allocation to selected Commercial Banks. 

The policy, the report added, does not permit the use of windfall for dividend payments. 

The joint panel therefore recommended that the application of the provision of Section 30 of the Principal Act should take effect from January 1,  2023. 

It stated that the levy shall be 70% on the realised profits from all exchange transactions of Banks.

The report stated that, “Any bank that fails to pay the windfall profit levy to the FIRS  has not executed the deferred payment agreement by 31st December, 2023, shall be liable to pay the windfall levy withheld or not remitted in addition to a fine of 10% of the levy withheld or not remitted per annum and interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria, minimum discount rate.