President Bola Tinubu has approved extending the supplementary budget for 2023 until March 2024.
Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the House of Representatives, announced the approval to journalists on Monday at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Tinubu had previously signed the N28.7 trillion 2024 appropriation bill into law.
The supplementary budget has been extended by 90 days, according to the speaker.
He said it would run alongside the capital component of the 2024 appropriation until March 31.
Abbas said:
“The president signed two other bills. The first one is the supplementary appropriation bill of 2023, which he has agreed to extend by 90 days.”
“So, it will continue to work concurrently with the 2024 budget until March 31.
“He has also approved the 2023 main budget to concurrently operate with the capital component of the 2024 budget up to March 31, 2024.”
The president signed the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget for 2023 into law in November.
Some line items had sparked outrage before the president signed the supplementary budget.
Among the items are an N4 billion request for the renovation of the president’s residential quarters in Abuja. There is also a N2.5 billion request for the renovation of the vice-president’s residential quarters in Abuja.
Furthermore, Abbas stated that the president approved the securitization of N7.3 trillion in ways and means of debt balance.
“Another landmark achievement we had was also approving the securitisation of the ways and means that have effectively brought to an end these controversial means and ways of borrowing money.”
“He has assured Nigerians that this will be the last of this ugly incident.”
Ways and Means is a loan facility administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It provides short-term financing to the government to cover budget shortfalls.
Securitisation is also the practice of pooling various types of debt instruments and selling them to investors as bonds.
The national assembly approved the president’s request for the securitization of the outstanding N7.3 trillion Ways and means debt balance on December 30.