The National Assembly leadership on Friday released details of its 2018 budget.
The release of the details of the fiscal document followed the directive of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who asked the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Omolori, to publish the budget details with line items for the interest of Nigerians.
Saraki also mandated the Clerk to make details of the National Assembly 2019 budget available for passage into law.
In a letter addressed to the CNA dated 26 March, 2019, Saraki said that full details of the National Assembly budget with necessary line items should be made ready for passage as part of the National budget.
The letter signed by the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, is entitled, “Subject: NASS budget details.”
It read in part, “The President of the Senate has asked me to request you to please ensure that the NASS Budget Details with all the line items are ready for passage along with the National Budget when Senate resumes next week. Thank you.”
The breakdown of the N139,500,000,000 showed that the National Assembly office was allocated N 8,576,260,225 for total personnel cost, N4,536,048,933 for total overhead cost, total recurrent cost is N13,112,309,158 while the sum of N2,276,926,754 as total capital amounting to N15,389,235,912.
For the Senate, N1,856,510,517 was voted for personnel cost, N28,791,110,014 for overhead, N30,647,620,531 for recurrent expendiyure. N4,934,465,168 for capital vote amounting to a total of N35,582,085,699.
For the House of Representatives, the sum of N4,923,743,127 was voted for personnel cost, N47,735,756,179 earmarked for overhead, N52,659,499,306 for recurrent expenditure, N4,765,638,487 for capital vote amounting to a total of N57,425,137,793.
The National Assembly Service Commission was allocated N1,175,626,305 as personnel cost, N1,250,662,999, N2,426,289,304 recurrent, N309,791,962 capital budget, a total of N2,736,081,266.
The controversial Legislative Aides have a budgetary provision of N9,517,127,214 personnel cost, N534,968,714 overhead cost, N10,052,095,928 recurrent, N150,000,000 capital, a total of N10,202,095,928.
Curiously, the legislative aides have always been at daggers drawn with the leadership of the National Assembly over alleged unpaid allowances.
It is not clear whether the purchase of computer for legislative aides, allocated N100 million and the another of purchase of computers also allocated N100million are parts of the breakdown of the budget.
Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was allocated
N118,970,215 for overhead cost, N118,970,215 for recurrent amount to a total of N118,970,215.
For the House of Representatives PAC, N142,764,258 was voted for overhead cost, N142,764,258 recurrent a total of N142,764,258.
General services received N8,967,743,268 for overhead cost,
N8,967,743,268 for recurrent, N3,416,928,811 capital vote, a total of N12,384,672,079.
National Assembly Legislative Institute got N433,771,911 as personnel cost, N1,223,988,826 as overhead cost, N1,657,760,737 recurrent cost, N2,716,052,859 as capital vote
Amounting to a total of N4,373,813,596.
Service Wide Vote received N1,145,143,254.
Total allocation
N26,483,039,299 as personnel cost, N93,302,013,406 as overhead cost, N119,785,052,705 recurrent, N18,569,804,041 capital vote amounting to a grand total of N139,500,000,000 as the National Assembly 2018 budget.
Other break down of the budget showed that furniture and fittings received N214.55m; photocopying machine and other office equipment N368.674m, health and medical equipment N191.501, purchase of power generating sets and upgrade of power supply equipment—, Purchase of learning and teaching aid equipment N5million; purchase of library books and equipment N60million; purchase of motor vehicles N657.394 million, purchase of security equipment N440 million; rehabilitation/ repair of office buildings N232.805 million
