The Senate, on Tuesday, approved an extension of the implementation period for the 2023 supplementary budget from March 31, 2024, to June 30, 2024. This decision was reached following the passage of an executive bill sponsored by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader, who presented the bill for second and third readings, expediting its consideration.
Initially, the Senate had extended the implementation deadline for the N1.3 trillion supplementary budget from December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024. However, the further extension aims to provide more time for the effective execution of the budgetary allocations.
In addition to the extension, the Senate also passed the 2024 budget of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), amounting to N446,342,656,992.00. This decision came after the adoption and approval of the recommendation presented by the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa from Niger East.
According to the report presented by Senator Musa, the breakdown of the FIRS budget includes N177,441,479,682.00 for Personnel Cost, N156,454,385,053.00 for Overhead cost, and N112,446,822,255.00 for capital expenditure. The budget estimates for the year 2024 are based on Zero Based Budgeting.
Furthermore, the committee noted that the projected Cost of Collection for the year 2024, amounting to N446.34 billion, represents a 39% increase compared to the approved budgeted cost of collection for 2023, which stood at N320.90 billion.
The approval of both the extension for the 2023 supplementary budget implementation period and the 2024 budget for the Federal Inland Revenue Service underscores the Senate’s commitment to ensuring effective financial management and revenue generation in the country.