Victor EzejaMinster of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has appealed to the National Assembly to speedily approve the N17.1 billion appropriated for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in the N27.5 trillion 2024 proposed National Budget.
The minister made the appeal when he appeared before the joint session of the Senate and House Committees on FCT, in Abuja on Friday.
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Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, explained that the N17.1 billion allocated to the FCTA would be used to complete several abandoned projects as well as to sustain the implementation of critical projects.
“The money is just N17.1 billion, so what can I say other than to say, please help us pass it,” Wike stated.
Explaining how the N17.1 billion allocated to the FCTA, will be spent, Wike said that N5 billion will be used for the Greater Abuja Water Supply projects and N4.5 billion for the design and construction of the Nigeria Cultural Centre and Millennium Tower.
Furthermore, the FCT minister stated that N4 billion would be used to finish the vice president’s residence and N3 billion would go toward renovating the Federal Secretariat.
According to him, N609.7 million of the 2024 budget allocated to the FCTA will be used for the settlement of residential and office accommodations for foreign organisations in Abuja.
Speaking on the 2023 budget’s performance, Wike explained that N15.5 billion had been allocated overall for the development of infrastructure, but only N8 billion ( which is 52 percent of the total) had been released.
Responding to the FCT Minister’s appeal, Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Mr Ibrahim Bomai, who acknowledged that all the projects were ongoing, stated that the funds would not be enough to complete the projects.
Mr Bomai noted that the FCT operates a dual budget – the national budget and the statutory budget – and expressed hope that the statutory budget might be in hundreds of billions.
The lawmaker urged the National Assembly committees on FCT to give no objection considering the meagre amount.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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