By Andy Asemota
The 2021 supplementary bill received by the Senate on Tuesday, 22nd June, 2021, scaled second reading stage in the Upper Legislative Chamber this Wednesday.

The bill for an act to authorize the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N892,842,465,917 received expeditious legislative action in the plenary presided over by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has been referred bill to its committee on appropriation and is mandated by the Senate to report back within two weeks.

A break down of the executive bill tabled by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abubakar Abdullahi, shows that N173,445,506,664 of the supplementary budget is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure while the sum of N722,396,959,253 is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on 31st December, 2021.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday requested for the approval of the total sum of N895,842,465,917 only as 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the Senate for critical and emergency areas of needs. The President’s letter read in the plenary of the Red Chamber by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said the request is necessary to make urgent provision for procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to him, the present procurement terms of COVID-19 vaccines were still uncertain as at the time of preparing 2021 budget hence there was no provision in the 2021 Appropriation Act for the tasks. Buhari noted that under the COVID-19 curtailment programme for the country, 70% of Nigerians would be vaccinated between 2021 and 2022.

“In addition, our law enforcement agencies and the military urgently need the procurement of military equipment and other resources to tackle security challenges across the country. The Ministry of Defence has carefully scrutinized this procurement list which the military authorities believe represents the minimum requirements to stem security challenges,” he stated.

The President also said the supplementary budget request is necessary to provide additional funds for public service wages adjustment to cater for sundry wage related issues in health and other sectors to prevent instability in the polity.

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His letter read in part: “Understandably, needs currently abound in many other sectors, however the supplementary budget proposals have been limited to these critical and emergency areas of needs due to our severe fiscal constraints. All other needs will be deferred to 2021supplementary budget which we intend present in September, this year.”

Going the urgent needs to address problem of oxygen availability in the country and avoid potential loss of lives and tackle the resources and equipment needs of the military and law enforcement agencies among other he appealed for expeditious legislative action on the supplementary budget.