A N6.2tn budget has been passed by the national assembly for reading, as the federal government is supposed to allocate a sum of N2tn for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project and other road projects.
The bill was passed after the presentation of the committee’s report on the 2024 Appropriation (Amendment) was done by Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West), who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
A bill to modify the Appropriations Act, 2024, providing for the sum of N6.2 trillion, comprising N3.2 trillion for capital expenditures and N3 trillion for recurrent expenditures, was forwarded by President Bola Tinubu to the Senate on July 17, 2024.
The document showed that N700bn was stipulated to be used for the country’s coastal road that was designed to run from Lagos to Calabar, passing through Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom and Cross River state.
The railway line that would connect Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri will cost N530 billion, passing through the states of Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno.
Additionally, the Badagry to Tin Can Port, Lekki Port, Ijebu Ode, and Kajola will be covered by the appropriation and N200 billion would be needed for the African Trans-Sahara Highway, which will pass through Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa and Abuja.
Another part of the bill stated that the water, irrigation and dam development project, among others, would take N349bn. The Livestock Development Programme was also awarded the sum N75bn.
During the presentation of the bill, Olamilekan stated that, “The bill was read the first and second time and referred to the Committee on Appropriations for further legislative action.
“The Senate may also recall that the 2024 Appropriation Bill was passed into law by the National Assembly in the sum of N28.7tn and was subsequently assented to by the President on January 1, 2024.
He said that the committee held extensive consultations with its leadership and other important stakeholders because it was required to submit a report on the measure to the Senate in less than a week.
Olamilekan said, “The committee met and discussed the bill’s scope as well as its source of funding for the projects with the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
The committee then proceeded to process the measure in accordance with pertinent legislative practice and procedure norms, working with its House counterpart. As a result, I offer the Senate my harmonized report on the Amendment Bill, 2024 for review and approval.
The Senate approved Olamilekan’s amended budget, which includes N1.742 trillion for statutory transfers and N8.27 trillion for debt servicing.
