Nigeria’s N982.73bn supplementary budget is for COVID-19, security: Official

*The Presidential aide says the country’s 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Act, aimed at providing military hardware and COVID-19 Vaccines, comes into effect from Monday, July 26

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Targeted at providing funds for the procurement of military equipment and procurement cum administration of COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Bill earlier submitted to the National Assembly (NASS) June this year.

Mr. Umar El-Yakub, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters, informed State House correspondents after a meeting with the President Monday, July 26 in Abuja, FCT.

The Supplementary Appropriation Bill passed and forwarded to President Buhari for his assent by the lawmakers amounted to a total of N982.72 billion.

ConsumerConnect reports that the 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Act, aimed at the provision of military hardware and COVID-19 Vaccines, comes into effect from Monday.

The supplementary budget is expected to be funded largely through new borrowing.

Buhari’s assent to the law is expected to facilitate the procurement of not only security equipment, but also the establishment of molecular laboratories, oxygen plants, and procurement of vaccines, particularly the J&J COVID-19 vaccines to combat the damaging Coronavirus in the country.

Recall that the President in June had requested the Federal lawmakers in both Senate and House of Representatives to approve a 2021 Supplementary Budget estimate of N895,842,465,917 in separate letters to the leadership of both chambers.

Buhari had  explained that the budget was to fund the procurement of equipment for the military, procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and provision of additional funds for the Public Service Wage Adjustment in health and other sectors.

Thereafter, the lawmakers directed the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriation to work on the President’s request.

At a joint session of the lawmakers on July 7, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau, as well as his counterpart in the House, Muktar Betara, submitted their reports.

The lawmakers later passed an increased sum of N982,729,695,343 as the approved 2021 Supplementary Budget estimate.

Of the figure, N123,332,174,164 was for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N859,397,521,179 was earmarked for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure for the year ending December 31, 2021.