The deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has lauded Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House, respectively, for keeping faith with the promise of passing the 2024 budget before the end of 2023.
Agbese also singled out the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, and the entire 10th Assembly for their sacrifice and dedication to the job of nation-building.
Recall that lawmakers passed the N28.7 trillion budget for 2024 during an extraordinary plenary session on Saturday, which was N1.27 trillion more than President Bola Tinubu’s proposed N27.5 trillion.
Out of the N28.7 trn, the sum of N1.7trn was allocated for statutory transfers; recurrent expenditure amounted to N8.77trn; capital expenditure stood at N9. 99trn while debt service gulped N8.27trn.
Bichi, while presenting the report at Saturday’s plenary, had explained the rationale behind increasing the estimates of the appropriation Bill, saying revenue-generating agencies and Government Owned Enterprises had a meeting with the Committee where they pledged a substantial revenue increase in 2024 to support the budget.
Reacting to these developments on Sunday, Agbese saluted his colleagues for going the entire distance to pass the budget as promised.
This sacrifice, Agbese stressed, “will not be taken for granted,” adding that “the 10th House is known for creating discomfort for its members, in order to make Nigerians comfortable. This is the People’s House, and I’m glad that the people are better off with the kind of leadership being provided here”.
He recalled how the House adjourned its plenary for three weeks to enable various committees to interface with relevant agencies in a bid to carefully study the budget proposal.
He continued, “At a point, we were almost going to spend our Christmas celebrations in the office. We had to suspend the House rules and were coming to the National Assembly on non-working days (weekends) and many times staying back at non-office hours.
“At a time when everyone was out of their stations preparing for the New Year celebration with their families, we came all out for the budget to be passed. I thank God we fulfilled our promise. The 10th House under Tajudeen Abbas must be commended for this.
“I’m sure too, that the executive would be glad that the legislative arm lived up to its mandate and expectations. We are in alignment with the manifestos contained in the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Tinubu and with the resolve of all of us to sustain Nigeria on the pedestal of the January-December budget circle”.
Hon. Agbese, who represents Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, also commended the decision of the Bichi-led Appropriation Committee for allocating the differential N1.27 trillion to the capital component rather than recurrent expenditure.
“This is a good decision. This is the first time the capital component of the nation’s budget is bigger than recurrent,” he added.