The presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, has faulted the signing into law of the N2.17trn supplementary budget by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
In his reaction, he claimed, in a statement, that the President failed to consider certain emergencies and pressing needs of the country.
He noted that going by the manner the budgetary allocations were done, it was obvious the President was unaware of the dire crisis in the country.
Tinubu assented to the supplementary budget at his office in the Presidential Villa Abuja, in the presence of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
However, addressing State House correspondents on October 16, 2023, Bagudu said the largest chunk of N605bn was earmarked for security, to further enhance the capacity of the armed forces and security agencies to address current and emerging security challenges nationwide.
Other items include N5.5bn for the student loan scheme and over N616bn in wage awards for civil servants to augment the heightened cost of living post-subsidy.
Before the President assented to the supplementary budget, some allocations had sparked public outrage.
Notable among them were the N4bn request for the renovation of the President’s Abuja residence and N2.5bn allocation for the Vice-President’s quarters.
Additionally, concerns arose over the proposed N5bn expenditure on a presidential yacht, N1.5bn for office vehicles for the first lady, and allocations of N2.9bn each for SUVs in the Presidential Villa and the replacement of operational vehicles for the presidency.
However, Abubakar Bagudu, speaking after a Federal Executive Council meeting on October 30, 2023, clarified that the largest portion of the total budget, a significant N605bn, would be dedicated to enhancing the nation’s defence capabilities and strengthening security agencies.
He added,
“In negotiation with the Nigeria Labour Congress, the federal government agreed to pay N35,000 each to about 1.5 million employees of the federal government, covering the months from September to December 2023.”
Additionally, Bagudu revealed that N400bn of the funds would be allocated for cash transfers to vulnerable and impoverished Nigerians between October and November.
