House of Reps passes 2022 budget with National Assembly getting a whopping N140bn

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives has passed the 2022 budget into law with the annual allocation to the National Assembly rising to N139bn ($337.29m) despite the hard times the country is facing.

Nigerian lawmakers are among the highest paid in the world despite the fact that the country is the poverty capital of the planet, with about 80m people living in abject poverty. In addition, the federal government has had to borrow about one third of the 2021 $33bn budget due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the harsh times, President Muhammadu Buhari had proposed a N134bn as statutory transfer to the National Assembly for 2022. However, the House Committee on Appropriations recommended N139bn to the National Assembly.

Hon Muktar Batera, the committee chairman had announced an increment in the total national budget by N730bn, with National Assembly being one of the beneficiaries. During the budget debate,  Hon Ben Kalu, the spokesman of the House of Representatives, had lamented the allocation to the lawmakers proposed by President Buhari was too small.

In the budget just passed, the Nigerian legislators, will get an additional N5bn. In 2021, Nigeria's budget was funded by borrowing from the likes of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African Development Bank due to reduced crude oil receipts.