The National Assembly is to get N70 billion in the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill to improve the working conditions of its new members.
Conversely, farmers who suffered the devastating 2022 floods across the country, will be getting N19 billion.
These are contained in the bill considered by the House of Representatives on Thursday during plenary.
A breakdown and details of the allocation are contained in a document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that President Bola Tinubu forwarded a bill to amend the 2022 Supplementary Act to the National Assembly. The supplementary Bill had earlier been passed by the ninth assembly.
In the letter to the lawmakers, he requested the extraction of N500 billion out of the N819 billion supplementary budget to fund the palliatives to mitigate the impact of petroleum subsidy removal.
Details of the bill
-N500 billion for palliatives and other capital expenditures to cushion the effect of the recent subsidy removal policy;
– N185,236,937,815 to the Ministry of Works and Housing to alleviate the impact of the severe flooding experienced in the country in 2022 on road infrastructure across the six geopolitical zones;
-N19,200,000,000 to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ameliorate the massive destruction to farmlands across the country during the severe flooding experienced last year;
-N35 billion to the National Judicial Council;
– N10 billion to the Federal Capital Territory Administration for critical projects; and
-N70 billion to the National Assembly to support the working conditions of new members.
It is, however, not clear if the N70 billion is part of the N281 billion provided in the 2023 budget for the National Assembly.
About 70 per cent of the 469-member federal legislature are new.
Meanwhile, amidst the dire economic situation in the country, this paper reported that the federal lawmakers are demanding an upward review of their salaries and allowances to offset the impact of removal of fuel subsidy.
2022 flooding and Nigerian farmers
In 2022, not less than 500 people died across the country as a result of floods, while 76,168 hectares of farmlands were partially destroyed, and 70,566 hectares of farmlands completely destroyed.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had in December 2022 sent a supplementary budget to the National Assembly, allocating N69 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The government also allocated N704 billion to the Ministry of Works and Housing, N30 billion to the Federal Capital Development Authority and N15.5 billion to the Ministry of Water Resources.
The new amendment, if passed and signed, will reduce the allocation to the farmers.
Fuel subsidy removal
Mr Tinubu, during his inauguration on 29 May, announced the removal of fuel subsidy, a decision that saw the price of petrol jump three-fold across the country.
Following the announcement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre, an over 200 per cent increase from the initial price below N200.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had initially planned a nationwide strike to protest the removal. However, the planned strike was suspended following a parley between them and the government, with some agreements reached.
While the administration has been commended for taking swift action on petroleum subsidy, there are still concerns about the impact of the removal, especially as it relates to the increase in the price of petrol and its multiplier effect on almost every sector of the country’s economy and impoverished households.
