The Senate on Saturday passed the 2024 budget with an increase of about N1.2 trillion, which was increased from N27.5 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu in November 2023 to N28. 7 trillion.
Penpushing reports that the federal lawmakers in the same vein pegged the benchmark of oil price at $77.96 per barrel of crude oil to reflect the current market values of the product in the international market.
The senate approved the oil production rate of 1.78 million barrels per day and the exchange rate of N800 to a US dollar, while the GDP growth rate was pegged at 3.88 per cent and the budget deficit was approved at N9.18 trillion.
Penpushing further reports that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage of the budget after the majority of the lawmakers supported it through a voice vote, and was passed after considering a report presented by Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan of the All Progressives Congress((APC) Ogun West.
The Senator while presenting the report, recommended that N1.7 trillion be approved for Statutory Transfers and N8 2 trillion be approved for Debt service, and equally recommended that N8.7 trillion be approved as recurrent (non-debt) expenditure and N9.9 trillion be approved as capital expenditure.
Penpushing also reports that the lawmaker explained that the increase in the appropriation was as a result of a request for additional funding of items which were not listed in the Appropriation Bill as submitted by President Tinubu.
The Committee chairman noted that the joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation observed inadequate funding in the budgetary allocation of some Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Nigerian government
Penpushing reports that the breakdown of budget as approved by the Senate is as follows; Aggregate Expenditure -N28,777,404,073,861, Statutory Transfers -N1,742,786,788,150, Recurrent Expenditure – N8,768,513,380,852, Capital Expenditure – N9,995,143,298,028 and GDP – 3.88 %
Meanwhile, the senate was dissolved into the Committee of Supply, which considered and passed the budget after presentation of the report
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