FG allocates N27bn to National Assembly for renovation, cuts health budget

The Federal Government has reduced the N37bn budget for the renovation of the National Assembly complex to N27.7bn.

The Federal Government, in the 2020 revised budget proposal, according to documents obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, cut N9.3bn from the budget for the renovation of the National Assembly complex.

The renovation of the complex at the initial cost of N37bn, which is to be executed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, attracted criticisms from a large section of Nigerians last year.

However, following the drop in the price of crude oil and a fall in the projected government revenue, it was learnt that the Federal Government decided to reduce the budget for the renovation.

President Buhari had on Thursday presented the 2020 Appropriation Act (amendment) Bill to the National Assembly, which both the Senate and the House passed for second reading same day.

Buhari explained that the amendment became necessary in view of the sharp decline in crude oil prices and the cut in Nigeria’s crude oil production quota occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Basic health care slashed by 42.5 per cent

In the proposed revised budget, while the National Assembly complex renovation budget was reduced to N27.7bn (a reduction of 25.1 per cent), the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, which is meant to cater for all the primary healthcare centres across the 774 local government areas in the country, was significantly reduced by N44.4bn to N25.5bn, a decrease of more than 42.5 per cent