TheCable

The N465 billion supplementary budget of President Muhammadu Buhari passed second reading at the senate without a debate.

Ali Ndume, senate leader, had presented the bill at plenary on Tuesday, after which Senate President Bukola Saraki asked for a voice vote to which a majority of the senators voted in favour of the passage of the bill to third reading.

Saraki thereafter referred the bill to the committee on appropriation for further legislative treatment.

He directed the committee to submit its report within a week.

On November 18, Buhari sent the supplementary budget for approval.

In a letter which Saraki read on the floor of the upper legislative chamber, the president hinged his request for a supplementary budget on the shortage of funds required for carrying out “important projects”.

A partial breakdown of the budget shows N39 billion is for operation Lafiya Dole, which is the anti-insurgency campaign in the north-east; N2 billion for feeding of students of unity schools and N413 billion for settlement of subsidy claims.

According to the letter, Nigeria will borrow about N2.1 trillion to finance the budget and service debts.

Buhari had explained that the increase of the loan from N882 billion (as contained in the 2015 budget) to N2.1 trillion was because of the plunge fall in the global price of crude oil.

He said the 2015 budget was pegged at $53 oil benchmark, but that the price had since plummeted further; hence the need to borrow money to finance the budget and service the nation’s debts.