Under the leadership of Godswill Akpabio, the 10th Senate successfully passed the 2024 appropriation bill on Saturday. The updated bill, which received approval from both chambers of the National Assembly, saw an augmentation in size from the initially proposed N27.5 trillion by President Bola Tinubu to the revised amount of N28.7 trillion.
The parliamentary approval marked a notable increase of N1.2 trillion in the budget submitted by President Bola Tinubu. Abubakar Bichi, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, explained to reporters after the special session on Saturday that the increase was attributed to inflation and the commitment from Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) to augment their revenue.
In the approved budget, the Ministry of Defence received the highest allocation of N1.3 trillion. Following closely, the Ministry of Police Affairs secured the second-highest allocation in the approved budget, amounting to N869.121 billion. Other significant allocations include N857.134 billion for the Ministry of Education, N667.577 billion for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and N362.552 billion for the Ministry of Interior.
The Ministry of Youths received N201.467 billion, while the Office of the National Security Adviser was allocated N199.763 billion. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs secured N140.456 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security obtained N110.248 billion, and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was granted N100.248 billion. Additionally, the Presidency received an allocation of N97.913 billion.
The passage of the 2024 appropriation bill signifies a significant step in the legislative process, setting the stage for the effective implementation of budgetary allocations across various sectors.
