President Muhammadu Buhari has submitted a supplementary budget of N895 billion to the National Assembly for consideration as part of moves to fund the army in order to address the issue of insecurity in the country. Supplementary budgets are made to provide for unseen expenditure that arises during the course of a financial year. Speaking with Journalists yesterday in Abuja after a closed door screening of Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, who said that the President had promised the country that he will rejig security architecture which he has done. The Supplementary budget is before us and we will give it speedy consideration. What we have discussed is in camera and all well and expecting light at the end of tunnel.” The National Assembly had in December last year passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill to the tune of N13, 588, 027,886, 175 trillion as an aggregate expenditure.
Speaking after the closed session with the Senate, the Chief Army Staff assured that Nigerian Army will continue to do his best to tackle security issue in the country. The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan had on Thursday promised Nigerians that the National Assembly will give speedy approval to the N895 billion supplementary budget announced by the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday. Lawan who spoke while announcing a N10m donation by the ninth Senate as part of activities to mark its two years of inauguration, said, “The National Assembly has been doing all it could with the executive arm of government to bring an end to the series of challenges of insecurity confronting the country.
“The Federal Executive Council, as reported in the media on Wednesday, has prepared N895 billion supplementary budget to be forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly for approval. Over N700 billion from the N895 billion supplementary budget is earmarked for tackling all forms of insecurity problems in the country, the very reason the National Assembly will give it expeditious consideration and passage.”
