On Tuesday at the plenary, the Senate passed the 2024 Appropriation Act Amendment Bill of N6.2 trillion, presented for consideration by President Bola Tinubu on July 17.

This followed presentation and adoption of report of the Committee on Appropriations on the bill by its chairman, Solomon Olamilekan (APC-Ogun).

Mr Olamilekan, in his presentation, said that out of the N6.2 trillion, N3.2 trillion was for capital expenditure, while N3 trillion was for recurrent expenditure.

He said the 2024 Appropriation Act amendment bill sought to make additional funds available for infrastructure development projects across the country.

He said the bill was also designed to meet other recurrent expenditure requirements, such as the minimum wage increase necessary for effective governance.

He said the committee, while processing the bill, consulted widely with other critical stakeholders and significantly deliberated with the minister of budget and economic planning on funding sources for the projects.

He said the additional expenditure in the amendment bill would be financed by the one-time windfall tax on banks’ foreign exchange profits for 2023 as approved by the National Assembly.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the committee chairman on appropriations and members for their expeditiously input on the bill.

He prayed that the amendment would enable Nigeria to reach its eldorado, bring about “renewed hope,” and stem the tide of protest by the labour union.

Mr Akpabio commended Mr Tinubu for the agreement reached in the minimum wage saga while praying that Nigeria would be better with the amendment to the budget.

He congratulated the lawmakers for their contributions to cooperation, saying it was sacrificial to the nation’s development. 

(NAN)