House of Representatives Okays N98.5bn 2024 Supplementary Bill for FCTA

*Senate refers bill to committee on FCT

Adedayo Akinwale and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The House of Representatives yesterday passed the 2024 supplementary bill of N98.5 billion for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
This is just as the Senate passed for second reading, the FCTA supplementary bill and referred it to its committee on FCT for further consideration.
The Chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Hon. Aliyu Betara presented the report of the committee to the House at the plenary for consideration.
President Bola Tinubu had recently presented the supplementary appropriation bill to the National Assembly for considerations, saying the money was meant to take care of critical infrastructures.

Presenting the report of his committee, Betara said the committee had scrutinised the presentation by President Tinubu and arrived at the conclusion that the money was needed to develop certain infrastructures in the nation’s capital.
He said: “That this House do consider the Report of the Committee on Federal Capital Territory on a Bill for an Act to Authorise the issue from the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration account, the total sum of N98,500,000,000 only for Capital Projects; for the Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for the Financial Year ending December 31, 2024″

“Provisions of the supplementary appropriation states that the Director of Treasury of the Federal Capital Territory Administration shall, when authorised to do so by warrants signed by the Minister Federal Capital Territory Administration with responsibility to pay out of the Federal Capital Territory Administration Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration during the financial year 2024 the sum specified by the warrants, not exceeding in the aggregate N61 ,553,778,260.00 only,” Betara explained.

Betara added that all revenues accruing to the FCTA, including the statutory revenue distribution shall be paid into the FCTA statutory revenue account.
In passing the budget, the House said that no money shall be withdrawn from the account mentioned in Section 3(1) above without appropriation by the National Assembly.
The House, however, granted waiver to the minister saying where, due to revenue shortfall, amounts appropriated under this Bill cannot be funded, the minister shall seek from the National Assembly a waiver not to incur such expenditure.

Senate Refers Supplementary Bill to Committee on FCT

In a related development, the Senate has also passed for second reading, the supplementary bill of the FCTA.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, referred the bill to the Committee on FCT for further consideration.
Akpabio also directed the committee to report back to the Senate within two weeks.

The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Oyelola Ashiru presented the estimates of the budget during the plenary.
The lawmakers had on Wednesday, stood down the bill because the breakdown of the budget lacked proper details.
When the fiscal document was presented again at yesterday’s plenary, the deputy leader of the Senate urged his colleagues to support its passage for the development of the FCT.

Contributing, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, also appealed to the senators to support passage of the bill.
Barau, who represents Kano North Senatorial District, claimed that the lawmakers had earlier debated on the bill before it was stepped down.