The Senate has approved N1.8 trillion for the 2025 Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Statutory Appropriation Bill, targeting ongoing projects in the nation’s capital, among other priorities.
This approval followed the presentation of the report of the Committees on FCT on the bill by the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Bomai Ibrahim (APC-Yobe), at plenary on Wednesday.
Ibrahim, in his report, confirmed that the Senate and the House Committee on FCT met with the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and other relevant officials of the FCT administration to deliberate on the appropriation bill.
Bill Breakdown
According to Ibrahim, the budget breakdown includes personnel costs of N150.35 billion, overhead costs of N352.03 billion, while total recurrent expenditure was proposed at N502.38 billion.
- He added that capital expenditure, as proposed, stood at N1.31 trillion.
- He said the total personnel cost constitutes 8.29 percent of the budget, while the total recurrent expenditure constitutes 27.69 percent.
- The total capital expenditure accounts for 72.31 percent, he added.
- He stressed that “out of the 72.31 percent, 85 percent of the capital was dedicated to ongoing projects,” while new projects would also be embarked upon by the FCT administration.
- He was of the view that the best practice for budget framework is usually 70 percent for capital and 30 percent for recurrent expenditure.
He commended the FCT administration’s budget, which stood at 72.31 percent capital and 27.69 percent overhead.
“This shows that the structure of the budget is in conformity with best practice,” he said.
- On his part, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano) said the leadership of the FCTA has done well in the administration of the FCT, necessitating the passage of the bill.
- He urged the Senate to support the efforts of the FCT minister and his team to improve infrastructure development by approving the budget.
Subsequently, the Senate passed the 2025 FCTA statutory appropriation bill.
What You Should Know
The bill was passed for second reading on May 14, 2025.
- The bill, which was presented by President Bola Tinubu, aims to support the ongoing transformation of the Federal Capital Territory through capital investments and improved service delivery.
- The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, had presented the bill’s general principles at plenary in May.
- Bamidele, who moved for the suspension of Senate Standing Rule 7(1) to expedite consideration of the bill, explained that the appropriation proposal seeks to authorize withdrawals from the FCT Statutory Revenue Fund to fund personnel, overhead, and capital projects in the territory.
