Following a unanimous adoption of a report laid on the floor of the House during plenary in Abuja by the Chairman, Appropriation Committee, Rep Murktar Betera, the House of Representatives yesterday passed the 2022 budget of N17.126 trillion against the N16.391 trillion presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The sum of N17.1 trillion is N800billion higher than the N16.39 trillion that was proposed by the executive. The House also increased the oil benchmark to $62 as against the $52 that was proposed by the executive, while the exchange rate was retained at N410.15.
The House added that the increase in oil price was to reflect the current market values of the oil barrel in the international market.
The House stated that provision was made for more funds to critical sectors for purpose of execution of their core mandate
The House also said that the additional revenue increase would be allocated to the agencies that came forward with additional financial reports which were not provided for in the budget.
This according to the House include the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 general elections, Defence, and the National Population Commission for the 2022 Population Census.
Others are Agriculture and Rural Development, National Security Adviser, National Assembly among others.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila said the passage of the 2022 budget was in keeping with the new tradition of operating an annual national budget from January to December. (Dailytrust)
