The House of Representatives has passed the 2024 supplementary bill of N98.5 billion for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Aliyu Mukhtari Betara (APC, Borno) presented the report of the committee to the House today, June 6, for consideration.
He asked the House to consider the Report of the Committee on Federal Capital Territory on a Bill for an Act to Authorize the issue from the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration account, the total sum of N98,500,000,000 only for Capital Projects; for the Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for the financial year ending December 31, 2024.
Aliyu Mukhtari Betara said that the Committee scrutinized the presentation by the President and arrived at the conclusion that the money is needed to develop certain infrastructure in the federal capital.
Provisions of the supplementary appropriation state: “the Director of Treasury of the Federal Capital Territory Administration shall, when authorized to do so by warrants signed by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory Administration with responsibility to pay out of the Federal Capital Territory Administration Statutory Revenue Fund of the Federal Capital Territory Administration during the financial year 2024 the sum specified by the warrants, not exceeding in the aggregate N61,553,778,260.00 (sixty-one trillion, five hundred and fifty-three million, seven and seventy-eight thousand, two hundred and sixty naira) only.
“The amount mentioned in Section (1) of this Section shall be appropriated to heads of expenditure as indicated in the schedule to this Bill.”
On the release of funds, it states: “all amounts appropriated under this Bill shall be made from the Federal Capital Territory Administration Statutory Revenue Fund only for the purposes specified in the schedule to this Bill.
”All revenues accruing to the Federal Capital Territory Administration, including the Statutory Revenue Distribution, shall be paid into the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Statutory Revenue Account.
“No money shall be withdrawn from the account mentioned in Section 3(1) above without appropriation by the National Assembly.”
It grants a waiver to the Ministers, saying: “Where, due to a revenue shortfall, amounts appropriated under this Bill cannot be funded, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory shall seek from the National Assembly a waiver not to incur such expenditure.”
The submission by the committee was unanimously adopted by the whole House.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had recently presented the supplementary appropriation bill to the National Assembly for consideration, saying that the money was meant to take care of critical infrastructure.

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Bola Tinubu administration of diverting public funds through petrol subsidy, hence the refusal of the government to reveal how much is being spent on subsidy.
Atiku, in a statement today, June 6, in reaction to a statement from the presidency, said that the clandestine subsidy regime is one of the reasons investments in the oil sector have refused to come in.
“Tinubu has brought the shady nature of running Lagos to the federal level. He claims subsidy is gone but his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, says they are intervening from time to time while his Finance Minister, Wale Edun described subsidy removal as an ‘ongoing process.’
“A document authored by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, revealing how much subsidy is being paid is now being disowned by the very authors of the document.
“Both the World Bank and the IMF have revealed in separate reports that Nigeria is still paying petrol subsidies, but the Tinubu government refuses to come clean. “Even a senior member of the APC had revealed that subsidy was beyond paid.
“For a man who claims to be on a mission to attract foreign direct investment, it is ironic that he cannot see that his policy flip flops and lies are capable of dissuading investors. He must come clean on this subsidy issue since he doubles as petroleum minister.
“The Tinubu administration should be courageous enough to own their policies and outcome with their full chest and responsible enough to be accountable for their actions to Nigerians.”
Atiku stressed that the denial had lend credence that money meant for the Federation Account, which ought to be shared to states and local governments, is being diverted without any form of accountability whatsoever.
He said that there is a need for the National Assembly to get to the bottom of the matter rather than focusing on frivolous issues.
“The National Assembly needs to be alive to its responsibilities, especially in the area of oversight.
“Posterity will not be kind to members of the National Assembly if they continue to look the other way while daylight robbery is taking place.”

The Nigeria’s Presidency has made it clear that the fuel subsidy regime has long ended as announced by President Bola Tinubu last year, and would never surface again.
“The government wants to restate that its position on fuel subsidy has not changed from what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared on 29 May 2023. The fuel subsidy regime has ended. There is no N5.4 trillion being provisioned for it in 2024, as being widely speculated and discussed.”
Special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement today, June 6, quoted the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun as saying: “as previously stated by government officials, including myself, President Tinubu announced the end of the fuel subsidy program last year, and this policy remains firmly in place.”
The statement, which was issued reacting to leaked documents on the fiscal policy proposal, published in the mainstream and social media platforms, implying the return of subsidy regime in the 2024 budget, said: “our commitment to ending unproductive subsidies is steadfast, as is our dedication to supporting our most vulnerable populations.
“The attention of the Presidency has been drawn to two fiscal policy documents in circulation that are being given wide coverage by the mainstream media and social media platforms.
“One of the documents, titled: Inflation Reduction and Price Stability (Fiscal Policy Measure etc) Order 2024 is being shared as if it were an executive order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The other is a 65-page draft document with the title “Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP), which contains suggestions on how to improve the Nigerian economy. President Tinubu received a copy of the draft on Tuesday.
“We urge the public and the media to disregard the two documents and cease further discussions on them. None is an approved official document of the Federal Government of Nigeria. They are all policy proposals that are still subject to reviews at the highest level of government. Indeed, one has ‘draft’ clearly written on it.”
The Presidency quoted the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, as saying: “it is important to understand that policymaking is an iterative process involving multiple drafts and discussions before any document is finalised.
“We assure the public that the official position on the documents will be made available after comprehensive reviews and approvals are completed.
“The Federal Government is committed to mitigating the effects of this removal and easing the cost of living pressures on Nigerians.
“Our strategy focuses on addressing key factors such as food inflation, which is significantly impacted by transport costs. With the implementation of our CNG initiative, which aims to displace high PMS and AGO costs, we expect to further reduce these costs.”
The statement called on the media to always exercise necessary checks and restraints in the use of documents that do not emanate from official channels so that the members of the public are properly informed, guided and educated on government policies and programmes.

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasiru Ahmed el-Rufai has waved aside the move by the State House of Assembly to probe his tenure over financial misappropriation, describing it as jaundice and politically motivated.
“This jaundiced probe should be disregarded as the politically motivated hatchet job it is.”
El-Rufai, in a statement today, June 5, by his media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, insisted that he ran a government of integrity and competent governance.
The former governor made it clear that he served Kaduna State with integrity and to the best of his capacity, assisted by a hardworking and patriotic team.

He stressed that he complied with all extant laws in all his activities while he was the governor.”
Part of the statement goes thus:
We are aware of news that the Kaduna State House of Assembly has adopted the report of the ad-hoc committee it asked to probe the El-Rufai government. We have not been availed a copy of the report, to which we would respond robustly whenever we obtain it. We affirm the integrity of the El-Rufai government and dismiss the scandalous claims being aired as the report of the committee.
Malam Nasir El-Rufai is immensely proud of his record of governance and the legacy he left in Kaduna State. This record of consistently high performance in public and private office cannot be altered by any malicious effort to use the auspices of a state legislature for defamation and undeserved smears.
Many of the officials who served in the El-Rufai government appeared before the ad-hoc committee because of their confidence in the quality of their service and the rectitude which they served Kaduna State. They were under no illusion that they were participating in a fair process. It was obvious that the ad hoc committee was merely going through the motions of an inquiry just to give some gloss to predetermined conclusions.
It is sad to see such a shameful departure from any notion of decency and fairness by a state legislature. We dismiss with contempt the claims being peddled in connection with the report.

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has found a 28-year-old Abuja-based nurse, Lucy Likeh, who was reported missing in Nigeria’s capital city recently.
Information reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper and hardcopy magazine said that Lucy was weak and could not explain what happened, and is currently receiving medical attention in a hospital.
It was learnt that nurse Lucy was found and taken to the hospital for medical examination by the Utako Police Division in the FCT, where her family had earlier reported her missing.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the development today, June 5, and said: “the lady (Lucy Likeh) has been found and taken to the hospital by the Utako Police Division where her family had earlier reported a case of a missing person.
“Details will be communicated to you later. We are proactive, and we urge the public to be rest assured while trusting the police with information.”
Lucy’s brother-in-law, Shadrach Obi, also confirmed the development, saying that she had been admitted for proper medical attention.
“It was like a miracle. She’s currently at the hospital for treatment. “She is very weak and unable to explain what happened to her yet.”
It was earlier reported how nurse Lucy went missing after visiting a motor park in the FCT to waybill a parcel to her friend.
The 28-year-old nurse, said to be working with a private organisation at MKK plaza in Jabi, Abuja, was said to have been at the Zuba Motor Park to transfer a parcel to her friend in Minna, Niger state last Friday.
After she visited the park, the nurse’s whereabouts were unknown, and her mobile phone was switched off.
She was said to be wearing a black tracksuit and a black/white chiffon shirt with a fez cap on the day of the incident.
Source: The PUNCH.