The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially approved a supplementary budget of N2.18 trillion for the fiscal year 2023.
The supplementary budget is aimed at covering additional expenditures in various sectors, including defense, infrastructure projects, and welfare packages such as wage awards and conditional cash transfers, which were agreed upon with organized labor unions.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, unveiled the details of the supplementary budget following the Federal Executive Council meeting held at the Aso Villa. He emphasized that the budget aims to address pressing national issues, particularly those related to national defense and security.
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“N605bn for national defense and security is to sustain the gains made in security and to accelerate and these are funds that are needed by the security agencies before the year runs out,” he said.
“Equally a sum of N300bn was provided to repair bridges including Eko and Third Mainland Bridges as well as construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of many roads nationwide before the return of the rainy season.
“Equally, the sum of N210bn was provided for the payment of wage awards. In negotiation with the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Federal Government agreed to pay N35,000 each to about 1.5 million employees of the Federal Government, and that amounts from September, October, November, and December 2023.
“Also, N400bn as cash transfer payments. You may recall that the Federal Government secured a $800m loan from the World Bank to pay cash transfers of N25,000 to 15 million households. The $800 million is for two months, October and November. The President graciously approved that an additional month should be funded by the federal government and that is what this N100bn is for.”
As part of the N2.18 trillion supplementary budget, the FEC also approved various allocations for specific sectors and projects. The approved allocations are as follows:
Agricultural Sector: N200 billion was approved for seed, agricultural input, supplies, and agricultural implements and infrastructure to support the expansion of production.
Infrastructure Development in the Federal Capital Territory: N100 billion was allocated for urgent and immediate capital expenditure infrastructure works in the Federal Capital Territory.
Electoral Commission: N18 billion was provided for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states.
Student Loans Board: N5.5 billion was allocated to fund the take-off of the student loans board, which is scheduled to commence loan disbursement in January 2024.
New Ministries: N8 billion was earmarked as a take-off grant for new ministries.
Capital Supplementation: N200 billion was allocated for capital supplementation to address urgent requests made to the President from various parts of the country.
The government’s allocations in various sectors, infrastructure development, and electoral processes are seen as a demonstration of its commitment to improving the nation’s well-being. They also indicate an effort to address the unique requirements of different regions within the country.