President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently presented the supplementary appropriation bill to the National Assembly for consideration, stating that the funds were earmarked for critical infrastructure.

Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Aliyu Mukthar Betara (APC, Borno), presented the committee’s report to the House for consideration.

Betara stated, “That this House do consider the Report of the Committee on Federal Capital Territory on a Bill for an Act to Authorise the issue from the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration account, the total sum of N98,500,000,000 only for Capital Projects; for the Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for the Financial ending December 31, 2024.”

The Committee scrutinised the President’s presentation and concluded that the funds were necessary for the development of certain infrastructures in the federal capital.

According to the provisions of the supplementary appropriation, “the Director of Treasury of the Federal Capital Territory Administration shall, when authorised to do so by warrants signed by the Minister Federal Capital Territory Administration, with responsibility to pay out of the Federal Capital Territory Administration Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration during the financial year 2024 the sum specified by the warrants, not exceeding in the aggregate N61 ,553,778,260.00 (sixty-one trillion, five hundred and fifty-three million, seven and seventy-eight thousand, two hundred and sixty naira) only.

“The amount mentioned in Section (1) of this Section shall be appropriated to heads of Expenditure as indicated in the schedule to this Bill.”

Regarding the release of funds, it states that “all amounts appropriated under this Bill shall be made from the Federal Capital Territory Administration Statutory Revenue Fund only for the purposes specified in the schedule to this Bill.

“All revenues accruing to the Federal Capital Territory Administration, including the Statutory Revenue distribution shall be paid into the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Statutory Revenue Account.

“No monies shall be withdrawn from the Account mentioned in Section 3(1) above without appropriation by the National Assembly.”

It grants a waiver to the Ministers, stating “where, due to revenue shortfall, amounts appropriated under this Bill cannot be funded, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory shall seek from the National Assembly a waiver not to incur such expenditure.”

The submission by the committee was unanimously adopted by the House at the committee of the whole.