FIJ
President Bola Tinubu and Kazeem Shettima, the president’s deputy, will consume N12 billion to renovate three official residences, according to the 2022 supplementary budget proposed to the National Assembly.
The Office of the First Lady will also spend N1.5 billion to purchase official vehicles.
This supplementary appropriation bill, seen by FIJ on Wednesday, spills to over N2 trillion. A supplementary appropriation bill is a request for additional funds by ministries, departments and agencies during the course of a running year.
More concerning is the continued spending of billions on questionable expenditures.
The proposed supplementary budget caters to 17 ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government. These MDAs are the Defence HQ (N49.9bn), Nigerian Army (N211bn), Nigerian Navy (N62.8bn), Nigerian Airforce (N112bn), Defence Intelligence Agency (N17bn), MOD/National Defence College (N22.9bn), Police Formations and Command (N50bn), FCT Administration (N100bn), Office of the National Security Adviser (N29.7bn), Department of State Services (N49bn), the State House (N28bn), Federal Ministry of Works (N300bn), Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (N200bn), Ministry of Housing (N100bn), Service Wide Vote (N615bn), Capital Supplementation (N210bn) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (N18bn).
The Office of the National Security Adviser wants N29.7 billion, more than Nigeria’s Defence Intelligence Agency’s N17 billion.
Tinubu’s 2023 supplementary budget also allocates N615 billion to Service Wide Vote. What is the purpose of that listing?
“Service Wide Vote is a major component of our yearly budget where a lump sum of money is kept in a compartment. It is meant to be used for unforeseen expenditure both for recurrent and capital,” Matthew Urhogide, the Senate Public Account Committee, said in October 2020.
“It is being disbursed by the Accountant General of the Federation based on the instructions of the Minister of Finance.
“Agencies that get normal budgetary allocations still approach the President to solicit additional funds either to make up for shortfall in the payment of salaries or allowances or to execute special projects that are carried out which they will need special funds to complete.”
So, N615 billion will be kept for expenditures the federal government has no idea about at the time of approval of the budget.
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN FIJ
