president Bola Tinubu’s request to extend the 2023 capital component of the 2023 Appropriation Act and the Supplementary Appropriation Act until December 31 today polarized the House of Representatives along party lines, as opposition lawmakers opposed the proposal. President Tinubu seeks the extension of the two budgets until December 31 to allow for a full implementation of the law. However, the opposition to the president’s request forced the lawmakers into an executive session amid loud booing from members of the opposition parties.
President Tinubu inherited the N21.8 trillion budget from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. However, the capital component of the budget suffered during the transition period, as many of the projects in the 2023 budget were not funded while the new administration settled in.
Tinubu also inherited the N819bn 2022 Supplementary Budget from the last administration. In July 2023, the president sent an amendment to the National Assembly to amend the N819bn budget. The amendment included an N70bn package for the National Assembly and N500bn for palliatives and other capital expenditures to cushion the effect of the recent fuel subsidy removal policy.
In October 2023, Tinubu sent a N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget to the National Assembly for approval. According to the president, the majority of the items in the budget were for tackling insecurity.
