National Assembly approves N819bn for subsidy palliatives, projects

Lawmakers will get up to N70bn in the N819bn supplementary budget passed by the National Assembly on Thursday.

The Senate also approved the $800m World Bank loan request by President Bola Tinubu.

The sum will be extracted from the N819bn Supplementary Appropriation Act, 2022.

N500bn was earmarked for palliatives and other capital expenditures to cushion the effect of the recent fuel subsidy removal.

N70bn was budgeted to support the working conditions of the National Assembly. At the same time, N185.2bn was earmarked for the Ministry of Works and Housing to alleviate the impact of the severe flooding experienced in the country in 2022.

Also, N19.2bn was budgeted for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ameliorate the massive destruction to farmlands across the country during the severe flooding experienced last year.

The National Judicial Council will get N35bn, while the Federal Capital Territory Administration gets N10bn for critical projects.

Tinubu, in the request letter read at the plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the loan would be substantially spent as an intervention fund for the vulnerable in society.

The president noted that N12m vulnerable Nigerians would be placed on a monthly stipend of N8,000 per person for six consecutive months to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on them.

In the amended N819.5bn 2022 supplementary budget, the Senate set aside N500bn for the cushioning of the effects of subsidy removal as requested by President Tinubu.

The spokesman for the Senate, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the N70bn appropriated for the federal lawmakers had earlier been provided for in the Act that is now amended.

He said, “ Aside from the N500bn specifically carved out for cushioning effects of subsidy removal, other appropriations made were retained as passed by the 9th National Assembly.”