By Gift Chapi Odekina
The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to extend the implementation of the capital aspect of the 2022 budget and the supplementary appropriation for the preceding fiscal year.
This followed the consideration and passage of a bill for an Act to extend the the implementation of the capital aspect of the 2022 Appropriation Act and Supplementary Budget from March 31 to June 30, 2023.
The bill which received accelerated hearing passing through first and second readings was referred to the Committee of Supply where it was approved and subsequently passed through third reading and transmitted to Senate for concurrence.
The House had in December passed a bill for an Act to Amend the Appropriation Act, 2022 to extend the implementation of the capital aspect from 31 December, 2022 to 31 March, 2023.
It also approved the N819.54 billion supplementary budget forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari had in a letter to the House Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the request was meant for the capital expenditure component of the 2022 budget and would be financed through new domestic borrowings.
Buhari also said the addition became necessary due to the devastation caused by floods on farmlands and road infrastructure in the country.
“The year 2022 has witnessed the worst flood incidents in recent history in the country which has caused massive destruction of farmlands at the point already close to the harvest season. This may compound the situation of food security and nutrition in this country.
“The flood also devastated the road infrastructure across the 36 states and the FCT and it affected several sections of major roads and bridges nationwide that are critical to movement of goods and services.
“The water sector was also affected by the flood and there is the need to complete some ongoing critical projects that have achieved about 85 percent completion.
“The nine critical projects proposed in the water sector cuts across water supply, dam projects and irrigation projects nationwide.
“I have therefore approved the supplementary 2022 Appropriation of N819, 000, 536, 937, all of which are capital expenditure. The supplementary would be financed through additional domestic borrowings and this would raise the budget deficit for 2022 to 8.17 trillion and deficit GDP ratio to 4.43 percent,” the letter reads.
