The Senate is set to pass the amended 2013 Appropriation Bill today.
This follows Senate President, Senator David Mark’s 24 hour ultimatum to the Committee on Appropriation to conclude all necessary legislative work on the amended 2013 Appropriation Bill and return same to the floor of the Senate for clause by clause consideration and final passage.
It would be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan had on February 15, 2013 assented to the 2013 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly and thereafter forwarded certain observations on the Bill, the legislature requesting amendment to the budget in March 2013. The presidency had after consultations with the Leadership of the National Assembly, sent in another version of amendments to the 2013 appropriation superseding the earlier one.
Meanwhile the present Appropriation Bill seeks National Assembly’s authorisation for the issuance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N4, 987,220,425, 601trillion only. The breakdown of the sum indicates thus; statutory transfers – N388,063,000,000 billion only( ii) Debt Service Expenditure –N591,764,000,000billion only (iii) Recurrent (None-Debt) Expenditure-N2,418,814,620,783billion only and (iv) Contribution to Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on the 31st December 2013-N1,588,578,805,197 billion only.
Mark’s directive to the Appropriation committee yesterday followed the successful passage of the Bill for second reading after it won the support of majority of senators present at the plenary and the fact that the upper chamber of the National Assembly wants to dispose of the budget before proceeding on its annual recess this week.
In his lead debate, Leader of the senate, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba had explained that the 2013 amended appropriation Bill cuts across the expenditure categories which are designated as critical and important and that some capital projects allocations that were reduced in the previous amendment are now restored in the present amendment to promote national development among others.
According to him, key among the projects affected include: Ministry of works –Lokoja Road reduced by N4billion, Kano Maiduguri Road reduced by N3.5billion, Dualisation of Ibadan-Ilorin section two reduced by N5.5billion; Rehabilitation of Jebba Bridge reduced by N1.25billion ; Rehabilitation of burnt Marine Bridge and Iddo Bridge reduced by N1billion; Special Intervention Fund for Emergency Roads and Bridges washout across the country reduced by N6.28billion ; Dualisation of Obajana junction to Benin reduced by N4billion etc.
Also Ministry of Health: MDG HIV/AIDS ARV drugs allocation reduced by N1billion; Routine Immunisation vaccine reduced by N1.75billion; Malaria programme procurement and distribution of insecticides reduced by N0.8billion; Payment of pledge for Onchocerciasis Rectification cut by N0.12billion; National Trauma Centre Abuja reduced by N0.1billion.
Other areas affected by the reduction in allocation include projects tied to Ministries of Power, Education and Transport while the initial allocation of N9billion allocated to SURE-P programmes was raised to N27billion because it’s a people oriented project and the need to provide jobs to teeming Nigerian unemployed youths and women.
In their contributions senators stressed the need for judicious use of the cuts from some key sectors of the economy, just as Mark directed the standing committees of the senate to monitor effective application of the funds allocated to Ministries and Agencies of government from the 2013 budget.
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