N895.8bn Supplementary Budget Passes 2nd Reading In House

The 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Bill of N895.842billion has passed second reading at the House of Representatives.

Grassroots.ng gathered that session was presided over by the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila on Wednesday.

The Leader of the House, Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, while leading debate on the general principles of the bill, said the two main expenditure heads were health and insecurity.

Ado-Doguwa explained that under health, the focus of the budget was the procurement of adequate vaccines to vaccinate the majority of Nigerians against the spread of COVID-19.

The leader also said additional funding was proposed in the budget to tackle insecurity, particularly the war against insurgency in the North-East, kidnapping and banditry.

He urged members to support the speedy passage of the bill, considering the urgency of the issues it proposed to address.

A breakdown of the supplementary budget shows that N173.445bn is earmarked for recurrent expenditure, while N722.396bn is for capital expenditure.

It was read for the first time on Tuesday, June 29, before it passed second reading on Wednesday (June, 30).

The bill was passed by members in a unanimous voice vote soon after Ado-Doguwa rounded off his debate.

The National Assembly had earlier in December 2020, passed N13.588 trillion as the main budget for 2021, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.