By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the 2024 supplementary bill of N98.5 billion for the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
The President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu had recently presented the supplementary appropriation bill to the National Assembly for consideration, saying the money was meant to take care of critical infrastructure.
Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Aliyu Mukhtar Betara (APC, Borno) presented the report of the committee to the House for consideration.
“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 (ninety-eight billion, five hundred million) only for Capital Projects; for the Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for the Financial ending December 31, 2024″
Betara said the Committee scrutinised the presentation by the President and arrived at the conclusion that the money was needed to develop certain infrastructures in the federal capital.
Provisions of the supplementary appropriation state that “the Director of Treasury of the Federal Capital Territory Administration shall when authorized 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.”
On 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“No monies shall be withdrawn from the Account mentioned in Section 3(1) above without appropriation by the National Assembly”.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 saying “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.
