Adedokun Waliyu 
The House of Representatives Committee on FCT on Wednesday adopted the bill seeking the approval of the N288 billion Supplementary budget for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
According to President Bola Tinubu’s letter, from the total sum of N288 billion supplementary budget was necessitated with a view to accommodate additional inflows from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and Miscellaneous Revenues in the sums of N8 billion and N280 billion, respectively.
Chairman, House Committee on FCT, Aliyu Betara, who spoke during the budget defence meeting with members, explained the need for accelerated consideration and passage of the Appropriation bill for the implementation of critical developmental projects across the nation’s capital city.
While noting that most of the projects are captured in the statutory budget, he observed that the Senate Committee on FCT is also working on the proposed supplementary budget.
Betara explained that the Committee was mandated to lay the report on the Supplementary budget during Thursday’s plenary “because there are critical projects that needed to start by next week because of the timeframe.”
According to him, the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike during the consultation affirmed that most of the augmentation requested for in the proposed supplementary budget was captured in the 2024 statutory budget passed by the National Assembly.
“There are no new projects, the only new projects are just two line items,” he noted.
After the unanimous adoption of the supplementary budget, the Committee resolved to lay the report during Thursday’s plenary.
President Tinubu in the letter addressed to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, averred that: “Indeed, residents of the Federal Capital Territory are in high spirit and elated with the magnitude and scope of ongoing projects simultaneously within the City Centre and across the six Area Councils of the Territory.
“The socio-economic impact is gratifying and it is indeed a testament that Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda is a promise made and a promise being fulfilled in quick succession.
“Mr. President may wish to be informed that Capital projects constitute the critical component of the FCT 2024 Statutory Appropriation with an expected significant impact on manpower and infrastructural development within the Federal Capital Territory.
“However, to realize the key FCT deliverables of the Performance Bond signed by the Honourable Minister, FCT with Mr. President at the inception of this administration, it is imperative to deliver on the following critical projects and programmes that were inadvertently omitted in the FCT 2024 Statutory Appropriation Act and to meet up with the 30% requirement of Procurement Act.”
