Buhari signs N982.7 billion budget to fight COVID-19, insecurity

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2021 supplementary budget of N982.7 billion into law on Monday, July 26, 2021.

N859.3 billion of the budget is for contribution to the Development Fund for the capital expenditure for the year, while N123.3 million is for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, according to a Presidency statement.

The National Assembly passed the budget nearly three weeks ago after receiving a request from the president.

The 78-year-old proposed the budget to fund Nigeria's COVID-19 vaccine programme, and further equip the country's security and law enforcement agencies.

It will be funded through facilities sourced from the World Bank and available new facilities.

The fund will also be used to fund health-related expenditures for the treatment of additional 50,000 patients under Nigeria's Comprehensive AIDS Programme, and address public service wage adjustment to cater for sundry wage-related issues in the health and other sectors.

"We have limited the supplementary budget proposal to just these critical and emerging areas of need due to our severe fiscal constraints," Buhari said in his proposal.

The president on Monday commended the National Assembly for the expeditious consideration and approval of the budget.

He assured the legislature that his government will ensure the timely delivery of capital projects to achieve the stated objectives.

When the bill was passed on July 7, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, charged relevant committees to fulfill their oversight responsibilities to ensure the fund is disbursed prudently.