The House of Representatives has justified the amendments made to the Appropriation Bill 2022, which President Muhammadu Buhari had asked the federal parliament to reverse.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, said the insertions and amendments were based on the demands by Nigerians.
Buhari had on December 31, 2021, declared that he would revert to the National Assembly with a request for amendment as soon as the parliament resumed so that critical ongoing projects cardinal to his regime would not suffer a setback due to reduced funding.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Kalu said, “Mr President has sent a letter to the National Assembly. The summary of that letter is not for a supplementary budget. We don’t have any supplementary budget. What Mr President has asked for is an amendment of the 2022 Appropriation Act. Such amendments receive a bracket within the budget to the tune of N150bn.
“So, Mr President is saying, ‘Based on the current realities, adjust one or two things within the budget to the tune of N150bn.’ The adjustment would lead to the reduction of some of the statutory transfers.”
The Punch
