21st December, 2021
By Naomi Sharang/NAN Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday wrote the Senate seeking approval for the virement of N276,757,232,395 billion to fund expenditures in the 2021 budget.
The request was conveyed in a letter dated Dec. 16 and read at plenary by the Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
It comes on the day the Senate passed a bill to amend the 2021 Appropriations Act.
The bill sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, scaled through second and third reading after it was considered.
The 2021 Appropriations Act (Amendment) bill seeks to extend the implementation of the Capital aspect of the Appropriation Act 2021 from Dec. 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
According to Buhari, the N276B being requested will be sourced from the N365 billion Service Wide Vote for Upscaling of National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).
The letter titled, “2021 Appropriation Act: Request for Virement to Fund Critical Expenditure” reads:
“The Senate may wish to recall that I signed the 2021 Appropriation on Dec. 31, 2020, for a total expenditure of N13.588 trillion and a Supplementary Appropriation to cater for critical needs for the Security and Health Sector in the sum of N983 billion on July 26.
“You may also recall that during the signing of the 2021 Appropriation Act, I mentioned that, where necessary, I will revert to the National Assembly with a request for amendment, virement or other appropriate adjustments to ensure that the core objectives of the Budget are accomplished.
“Accordingly, the 2021 Budget implementation is faced with challenges that will require additional funding for some critical and urgent line items in the Budget.
“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to forward the comprehensive Virement Proposal for the consideration and approval of the National Assembly.
“The details of the expenditures proposed for the virement are attached herewith as schedule 1 while Schedule 2 shows the sources of the funds to be vired for the items in Schedule 1.
“In the light of the above, I implore the Senate to urgently consider the virement proposals to support our efforts to improve the well-being of our citizens.”
Buhari’s expenditure list:
Here is a breakdown of the virement request detailed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning:
Federal Ministry of Finance: N199, 129, 053, 400 for payment of local contractors debts, public service wage adjustment for MDAs, SDGs Projects 3 and Group Life Assurance for all MDAs.
Federal Ministry of Education: N4, 500, 821, 569
Nigerian Air Force: N2, 335, 167, 265
Ministry of Defence: N4, 617, 811, 857
National Assembly: N25 billion for settling minimum wage arrears of National Assembly Staff and Intervention to settle outstanding liabilities owed local contractors.
Federal Road Maintenance Agency: N20, 038, 920, 773
Nigerian Correctional Service: N762, 678, 972
Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC): ; N592 million as financial assistance for the execution of 2021 End of Year Special Patrol Operation.
N19, 780, 778, 558 for funding for Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, University of Benin Teaching Hospital and Jos University Teaching Hospital.”