Senate to approve N2.17trillion 2023 supplementary budget today

By Iyojo Ameh

The Nigerian Senate will today in plenary approve the N2.17trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill forwarded to it for consideration by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday .

As requested for by President Tinubu in the letter read in Senate during plenary on Tuesday , the request was given expeditious consideration by debating on budgetary proposals made in the bill , passed for second reading and mandated committee on Appropriations to interface with heads of affected agencies for defence on proposals made .

The Committee chaired by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola ( APC Ogun West), met with heads of affected seven agencies till late hours of Wednesday and told journalists that the reports on the supplementary budgetary proposals will be submitted to Senate for final consideration and passage today .

He said : As mandated by the Senate on the strength of request made by President Bola Tinubu , the Appropriations committee has met with heads of the affected seven agencies supplementary budget proposals were provided for .

” Heads of each of the agencies , have defended proposals made for them by the President and convinced the committee on the need for the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly to approve the N2.17trillion 2023 supplementary budget .

” The committee has carried out the assignment given in line with urgency required on the basis of which report for final consideration and passage of the bill , will be submitted to the Senate today ( Thursday ) “, he said .

At the interface the committee had with heads of the affected agencies , the Minister of Housing , Ahmed Dangiwa , defended the N100 billion budgeted for the Federal Ministry of Housing in the Supplementary budget which according to him, would be spent on construction of Housing Estates across the country.

He explained that the federal government would construct 1,000 housing estates in each state of the federation, adding that all state governors had been contacted to provided 50 heaters of land for the construction of the estates .

He said another 2,000 Housing Estates “will be built in the urban areas in each geo-political zones.

“We will use N50 billion to kickstart the construction of the housing estates in the federation. The remaining N50 billion will be used to develop slums in different parts of the country”, he said .

In his own presentation, the FCT Minister , Nyesom Wike , defended N100 billion provided in the supplementary budget for the Federal Capital Territory out of which N22 billion was earmarked for completion of metro rail.

For the purpose of security and safety in FCT , Wike told the committee members that all abandoned structures would be brought down so as not to serve as hideouts for criminals from neighbouring states .

“We will bring down all abandoned buildings within the FCT. We will also take over all those buildings because we have discovered that they are hideouts for criminals.

“When people commit crime, they will come and hide inside them. I have confidence that things would turn around”, he said .

Other Ministers who made presentations before the committee , were the Minister of Works David Umahi, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari , Minister of State for Defence , Hon Bello Matawale as well as Service Chiefs .