By Kayode Araba
The Nigerian Senate has passed the nation’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year the budget was increased from N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu before the joint sitting of the National Assembly on November 29 and this shows an increase of over N1.2 trillion.
However, the lawmakers approved an increase in the exchange rate to $ 800/$1 as against the N750/ $1 rate proposed by the executive and crude oil price was pegged at $77.96 per barrel, crude oil production at 1.78 million barrels per day.
Therefore, the passage of the budget was a sequel to consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriation presented by the chairman, Senator Adeola Solomon
In his presentation, the committee recommended that N1.7 trillion as statutory transfers, N8.7 trillion as recurrent expenditure, and N9.9 trillion as capital expenditure.
And, Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan also disclosed that the executive forwarded a request for additional funding and some items of Expenditure to the committee which were not included in the bill the President had submitted
The Senate, thereafter, dissolved into the Committee of Supply, which considered and passed the budget
In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio assured that the document would be immediately transmitted to the President for his assent so that implementation could begin by January 1 and the borrowing plan submitted by the President Bola Tinubu was also approved by the Senate.
