In a letter to the Senate, President Bola Tinubu asked for a rise of N6.2 trillion, or N28.7 trillion, to N34.9 trillion in the 2024 appropriations act.
Tinubu’s letter was read aloud by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on the upper legislative house floor on Wednesday. In the letter, Tinubu suggests setting aside N3 trillion for ongoing expenses and N3.2 trillion for infrastructural projects.
“Pursuant to section 58 (2) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended, I forward herewith the above named bills for consideration and passage by the senate.
“The appropriation act amendment bill seeks to amend the principal act to provide the sum of N3,200,000,000,000 for Renewed Hope Infrastructure Projects and other critical infrastructure projects to be undertaken across the country and the sum of N3,000,000,000,000 to meet further recurrent expenditure requirements necessary for the prosper operation of the federal government.
“They shall be funded by accruing to the federal government of Nigeria,” Tinubu said.
Amendment of Finance Act
In addition, Tinubu urged the National Assembly to amend the Finance Act of 2023, specifically targeting windfalls generated by banks from “foreign exchange gains.”
His request, aimed at ensuring a fair taxation policy, seeks to address the profits banks accrue due to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
This, he said, is to fund capital infrastructure development, education, health care access and public welfare initiatives.
“Furthermore, the proposed amendments to the Finance Acts 2023 are required to a one-time windfall tax on the foreign exchange gains realised by banks in their 2023 financial statements to fund capital infrastructure development, education, and healthcare as well as welfare initiatives all which are components of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Tinubu said.
Top Nigerian Banks raked in a profit of N3.3 trillion in 2023 mostly arising from forex revaluation gains. This is according to data from Nairalytics. In 2023, the top 7 local banks raked in N2.48 trillion while in 2024 first quarter they raked in a whopping N882.9 billion.
What you should know
The 2024 appropriations bill was approved by the National Assembly in January 2024, surpassing President Bola Tinubu’s initial proposal of N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion. A N1.2 trillion increase was included to the budget.
The passed measure set aside N1.74 trillion for capital expenditures, N8.27 trillion for debt servicing, N8.76 trillion for recurrent expenses, and N9.99 trillion for statutory transfers.
The Senate stated that the Committee on Appropriations had made several changes to the bill in order to address future demands for additional financing from the Executive.
The foreign exchange disparity, increase in Government-Owned Enterprises’ (GOEs’) revenue, reduction in GOE personnel, Service Wide vote (wage adjustment), and reduction from Service Wide are a few of the changes that have been implemented.
