Reps, Senate pass N1.28 trillion FCT budget
By Emma Ogbuehi
The two chambers of the National Assembly, on Tuesday, passed the N1.28 trillion budget of the Federal Capital Territory Administration presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu last week
Out of the total amount approved by the House of Representatives, N140.915 billion is for personnel costs; and N373.027,373 billion is for overhead costs, while the balance of N768.328 billion is for capital projects.
The passage of the budget followed a report submitted to the House by the chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Mukhtar Aliyu Betara, following a budget defence by the Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Speaking at the budget defence session, Betara asked the Minister to prioritize transparency, accountability, and adherence to budgetary guidelines in project execution in the territory.
The lawmaker, who underscored the committee’s commitment to ensuring efficient fund utilization for tangible benefits amid FCT’s developmental challenges, stressed the need for robust monitoring mechanisms to track project progress and hold authorities accountable.
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In passing the budget, the House said the Minister of FCT and the Director of Treasury shall furnish the National Assembly, on a quarterly basis, the status of the records of the Federal Capital Territory Statutory Accounts.
In a similar vein, the Senate passed the sum of N1.282,270,710,283.00 as the budget of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the 2024 fiscal year.
The passage of the budget followed the adoption and approval of the recommendations in the harmonized report of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on FCT on the 2024 FCT statutory Appropriation Bill at plenary.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Ibrahim Bomoi, presented the report.
Of the amount, the sum of N140,915,003,856.00 is for personnel cost while N373,027,373,668.00 is for overhead cost.
The balance sum of N768,328,232,759.00 is for capital projects for the FCT financial year commencing from 1st January to 31st December 2024.
