President Muhammadu Buhari has transmitted a supplementary budget of N895,842,465,917 for the consideration of the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives received the President’s request in a correspondence read by speaker Femi Gbajabiamila in which he explained that the supplementary budget will be funded by a new loan of N722billion in the absence of funding.

In the letter, the President is proposing N83.56 billion for COVID-19 programme, however, N45.63 billion will be funded by drawing on existing World Bank loans.

The government is planning to draw from the special reserve /levy accounts a total of N135 billion. The money will fund the balance for the COVID-19 vaccines programme, salaries and other health-related expenditures totalling N41.69 billion and the N48.20 recurrent component of defence/security expenditure.

“We propose to fund the balance of N722.40 billion for capital expenditure on defence/security and capital supplementation from new borrowings, in the absence of any supplementary revenue sources,” the president said.

Reps to pass PIB, others in 2 weeks – Gbajabiamila

Beside COVID-19 vaccines, the government plans to treat additional 50,000 patients under the Nigeria Comprehensive AIDS Program in States (NCAPS). According to the government, the provision was cut by the lawmakers in the 2021 budget.

The government also planned to address oxygen shortage in the country and also address wage adjustment in the healthcare sector.

“In order to address the urgent problem of oxygen availability in the country and avoid the potential loss of lives, provision was made for the procurement and installation of new oxygen plants nationwide and repairs of oxygen plants in FCT hospitals.

“It is also necessary to provide additional funds for public service wage adjustment to cater for sundry wage-related issues in the health and other sectors, which if not resolved can add to the prevalent sense of instability in the polity,” the letter reads in part.

The money will also help fund military equipment for the military.

“In addition, our security and law enforcement agencies urgently need to procure additional equipment and other resources in response to the prevalent security challenges across the country. The Ministry of Defence has carefully scrutinized these procurement needs, which the military authorities claim to represent the minimum requirements.”

Recall that in May, the president sent a letter to the National Assembly, requesting approval to borrow $6.1 billion from bilateral and multilateral organizations to fund the deficit in the 2021 budget.

According to the Debt Management Office, as at 31st March, the total debt stock by the federation (Federal, States and FCT) stands at N33.3 trillion.

The budget will probably get speedy passage, as the Senate President Ahmad Lawan already directed the Senate Committee on appropriations to submit their report on Wednesday.

In the case of the House of Representatives, the Speaker has directed the relevant committees and the lawmakers to committed in passing the budget within the next 2 weeks before the break for their long legislative recess