In a special plenary session, the House of Representatives has successfully passed the 2024 Appropriations Bill for a second reading.
The legislative step was taken following a two-day debate on the general principles of the bill. President Bola Tinubu had presented the budget proposal to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The House initiated the debate on Thursday, dedicating about two hours to discuss the bill.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announced a special session on Friday to conclude the debate, leading to the successful passage of the legislation.
The 2024 budget proposal outlines an aggregate expenditure of N27.5 trillion.
Within this framework, recurrent expenditure is set at N9.92 trillion, capital expenditure at N8.7 trillion, deficit projected at N9.18 trillion, and debt servicing estimated at N8.25 trillion.
The projected budget deficit for 2024 is N9.18 trillion, equivalent to 3.88% of GDP. This figure represents a decrease from the N13.78 trillion deficit recorded in 2023, accounting for 6.11% of GDP.
Allocations in the 2024 budget include N2.18 trillion for the education sector.
The Ministry of Education and its agencies are earmarked N1.23 trillion, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) receives N251.4 billion, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is allocated N700 billion for infrastructure projects in tertiary education.
The health sector sees an allocation of N1.33 trillion, with the Ministry of Health and its agencies receiving N1.07 trillion.
GAVI immunisation is allotted N137.2 billion, and N125.7 billion is designated as a statutory transfer to the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
The defence sector is allocated 12% of the total budget, amounting to N3.25 trillion, while infrastructure receives N1.32 trillion.
Following the conclusion of the debate, Speaker Tajudeen announced that the Appropriations Committee would meet after the plenary session.
The Deputy House Leader, Ali Halims, moved a motion for the adjournment of the House until 12 December, allowing committees to engage with relevant MDAs. The motion for adjournment received unanimous approval from the House.
Source: Premium Times