THE House of Representatives, on Wednesday, gave the amended 2011 budget sent to it by President Goodluck Jonathan a quick passage by including additional N30 billion naira in the National Assembly’s budget.
The House also jacked up the budget of the Executive by N23 billion while increasing the total budget by about N77 billion.
Thus, the House increased the amended budget from N4.407 trillion to N4.484 trillion.
President Jonathan had, on Tuesday, asked the National Assembly to review the 2011 appropriation bill which he reduced from N4.9 trillion to N4.4 trillion after signing it into law on Monday.
In the N4.4 trillion amended 2011 Budget, the reduction by the president was about N500 billion with the most affected being statutory transfer, which had a provision of N496.6 billion but was slashed to N387.8 billion. This is a difference of over N564.8 billion.
The National Assembly was also affected in the new proposed budget as its allocation was reduced from N232.7 billion to N120 billion, which is a reduction by N112.7 billion.
The figure for debt servicing was increased by N50 billion from N445 billion to N495 billion while recurrent expenditure was reduced fromN2.469 trillion to N2.401trillion.
The president also slashed the figure for the contribution to development fund for capital expenditure from N1.562 trillion to N1.122 trillion, which means a reduction by N440.1 billion.
But in the version passed by the lower chamber, on Wednesday, the provision for the National Assembly was increased from the Executive provision of N120 billion to N150 billion, thereby increasing statutory transfers from N387.8 billion to N417.8 billion.
The provision for the Executive arm of government was increased from N1.755 trillion to N1.778 trillion, making an increase of N23 billion.
The House also received the report of the Committee on FCT on the bill for its 2011 budget and approved the report clause by clause.
It has a total provision of N236 billion out of which N42.2 billion is for personnel cost, N36.2 billion for overhead costs and N157.6 billion for capital projects.
Three bills were also passed by the lawmakers on Wednesday. They are the bill for an Act to provide for the establishment, management and operation of a centre that would act as that of commercial arbitration, establish the Nigerian Intelligence Pension Board and State Security Service Pension Board to handle pension matters and the bill for the establishment of the Public Service Delivery Office.
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Reps jack up NASS budget by N30bn •Approve N23bn for Executive