Abuja – November 30, 2023 – Viewpoint Housing News.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has presented a N61,553,778,259 billion 2023 statutory supplementary budget proposal for the FCT before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees of the National Assembly.
On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the FCT Minister revealed in his presentation to the Senate and House of Representatives Committees in Abuja that, the supplementary budget is intended to allow for additional financial inflows into the FCT in order to guarantee the administration’s top-priority projects and programmes are completed.
The Minister clarified that the additional cash inflows are made up of N28.6 billion in PAYE tax liabilities from federal agencies, N25.8 billion in Paris Club Refunds, N5 billion in Special Intervention Funds (Palliatives) from the Federal Government, N9.4 billion in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and N5 billion in Infrastructure Support Funds.
N12.9 billion of the N61.55 billion projected amount is designated for overhead expenses, and the remaining N48.6 billion is set aside for construction expenditures.
The supplementary budget will help fund a number of capital projects, such as the construction of Southern Parkway from Christian Centre (S8/9) to Ring Road I (RRI), the full scope development of Arterial Road N20 from Northern Parkway to Outer Northern Motorway (ONEX), and the resurfacing of existing roads and remedial works phases I and II.
ome of the other projects include the construction of the Vice President’s residences, the rehabilitation of the National Mosque and National Christian Centre, the provision of engineering infrastructure to Wuye District, the construction of an access road to Kabusa Garden Estate, the provision of mass transit buses and the repair of existing, serviceable vehicles.
Making the presentation before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees in Abuja on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the FCT Minister disclosed that the supplementary budget is to accommodate additional cash inflows to the FCT to ensure the completion of prioritized projects and programmes of the Administration.
The Minister explained that the additional cash inflows comprise of receipts of N25.8 billion Paris Club Refund, N28.6 PAYE Tax liabilities from federal agencies, N5 billion Special intervention funds (palliatives) from the Federal Government, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N9.4 billion and N5 billion Infrastructure Support Fund.
Of the N61.55 billion proposed sum, N12.9 billion is for overhead costs, while N48.6 billion is earmarked for capital expenditure.
Some of the capital projects that will benefit from the supplementary budget include the resurfacing of existing roads and remedial works phase I and II, completion of roads B6, B12 & Circle Road in the Abuja Central Area, Full Scope Development of Arterial Road N20 from Northern Parkway to Outer Northern Expressway (ONEX) and Construction of Southern Parkway from Christian Centre (S8/9) to Ring Road I (RRI).
The Minister also revealed that almost all of the contractors employed by the FCT Administration had abandoned the project sites before the present FCT Administration took office as a result of the FCTA’s failure to meet its contractual commitments.
He said that in order to use the necessary funds to get the contractors back to the various sites, the FCT Administration needed the National Assembly’s approval through an appropriation. He also added that the budgeted funds would be attached to some of the ongoing projects to guarantee their completion by May of the following year.
According to what he said, the projects are among the presidential deliverables that the FCT Administration has promised to finish by May 2024, the day the President celebrates one year in office.The FCT Minister also revealed that a sizeable portion of the supplementary budget has been set aside for widespread newspaper ads in an effort to raise awareness of the need to enforce ground rent payments and the planned recertification of certificates of occupancy.
The Minister said that by taking these steps, the FCT’s IGR would increase and that fraud would be reduced and the security characteristics of the land title papers would be improved.
The Minister also revealed that the Administration will hire Senior Advocates of Nigeria to effectively defend the FCTA in the roughly 800 lawsuits that have been filed against it.
The Minister went on to explain that the national supplementary budget, which was unveiled by the President and included N100 billion for the FCT to implement national projects like the metro line and other road projects, is not the same as the FCT 2023 supplementary budget.
As a result, he urged the National Assembly to approve the supplementary budget as soon as possible, stating that the FCT will see the commissioning of several projects the next year.
In remarks, some Committee members demanded that the FCT have more robust security and CCTV monitoring in addition to providing road infrastructure, healthcare, and educational resources in the satellite towns .The city’s upgraded street lighting, which has significantly increased security, was another area the minister received commendations for.
