By Raphael Ekpang
Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives on Saturday in their usual way passed the 2024 appropriation bill of N28,777,404,073,861 trn, ( Twenty Eight Trillion, Seven Hundred and Seventy- Seven Billion , Four Hundred and Four Million, Seventy – Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty -One Naira ) Only.
The new figure is over 0ne trillion addition made into the budget estimate of 27.5 trillion presented to the joint session of the National Assembly November 29 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Bola. The question now is, should the additional N1.2 trillion be refers as paddling?
In the fresh estimates approved to be issued from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, of the Federation, N1,742,786,788,150( One Trillion,Seven Hundred and Forty- Two Billion, Seven Hundred and Eighty- Six Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Eight Thousand,One Hundred and Fifty Naira only for Statutory Transfers and N8,270,960,606,,832( Eight Trillion,Two Hundred and Seventy Billion, Nine Hundred and Sixty Million, Six Hundred and Six Thousand, Eight and Thirty -one Naira only for Debt Service.
The upper and lower Chambers also approved the sum of , 8,768,513,380,852( Eight Trillion, Seven Hundred and Sixty -Eight Billion,Five Hundred and Thirteen Million,Three Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Two Naira only is for Recurrent ( Non- Debt) Expenditure, while the sum of N9,995,143,298,028,(Nine Trillion,Nine Hundred and Ninety- Five Billion,One Hundred and Forty-Three Million, Two Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Twenty-Eight Naira) only is for contributions to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year Ending for the year ending 31December, 2024
