Senate Confirmed Tinubu’s 2023 Supplementary Bill of N2.17 Trillion

Also, the Senate has confirmed the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary bill submitted by President Tinubu last Tuesday.

The bill was passed in the Senate during the Thursday plenary following the adoption of a report presented by the appropriation committee during the plenary.

The bill is to finance urgent financial commitment of the Tinubu administration, including the agreement reached with the organized labour on the palliative to reduce the hardship caused by the petrol subsidy removal.

Other are the urgent defense expenditure, the proposed student loan scheme, conditional cash transfer and infrastructural and agricultural projects.

The passage followed the adoption of the report of the harmonised sittings of both chambers on the bill as submitted by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Ogun West).

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration submitted a N2.1 trillion budget to the National Assembly after the Federal Executive Council approval on Monday.

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Key components of the budget include N210bn for Wage Award for Civil Servants, N605 billion for National Security and Defence, N300 billion for maintenance of bridges, especially the Eko bridge, and N400 billion for cash transfer to vulnerable households, N200 billion for seed and agricultural inputs and equipment and N18 billion for Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct off-season elections.

Meanwhile, the federal government has given clarity on the public outcry that trailed the presidential yacht and other line items in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation presented to the National Assembly.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement yesterday, that what was named as Presidential Yacht in the budget was an Operational Naval boat with specialised security gadgets suitable for high profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President.

He said the clarification was necessary given that President Bola Tinubu’s administration respected the views of Nigerians on all matters of public concern.

Onanuga, said the boat was called presidential yacht by way of nomenclature because of the high level security features.