The Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the Federal Executive Council has approved the 2021 supplementary budget draft of N895 billion.
The Minister disclosed this on Wednesday evening in a press briefing with newsmen after the FEC meeting, adding that the supplementary budget would be used on insecurity, covid-19 vaccines, salaries and other health-related expenditure as well as the recurrent component of the defence and security expenditures.
“Today the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning presented to council a proposal to seek approval for the draft Federal Government of Nigeria 2021 supplementary budget,” she said, citing that a bill would be presented to the National Assembly for approval.
READ: 2021 Budget: FG projects spending plan of N11.86 trillion and deficit of N5.16 trillion
“The council on that note approved the 2021 supplementary appropriation bill, in an aggregate expenditure of N895,842,462,917,” she added.
Expenditures, she added, are N83.56 billion for Johnson and Johnson vaccines, N1.69 billion for the Nigerian Comprehensive AIDS programme, N40 billion under the public service-wide wage adjustments to take care of the needs for allowances to the health and education sector, and N770.60 billion for defence spending.
Zainab Ahmed also disclosed that the FEC received approval to “withdraw N135 billion from some special reserve lobby accounts to part-fund this supplementary budget but specifically related to COVID-19 vaccine, salaries and other health-related expenditure as well as the recurrent component of the defence and security expenditures.”
READ: Nigeria’s high recurrent costs, low revenue and escalating debt number
She revealed the council gave the approval to draw down some existing World Bank loans valued at N39.58 billion to finance part of the supplementary budget “We will be working with the World Bank to restructure some of the existing facilities to realise this N39.58 billion,” she noted.
What you should know
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2021 Appropriation Bill of N13.588 trillion into law on 31st December 2020, which included a benchmark oil price of 40 US Dollars per barrel and GDP growth projected at 3.0%.
