During the plenary session held on Wednesday, the amendment successfully passed the first, second, and third readings. On Thursday, following extensive discussions and contributions from the House members, the President's request received the green light.
President Tinubu expressed his hope that the lawmakers would swiftly consider and approve his proposal. In a letter addressed to the House of Representatives, he highlighted the urgency of the request, stating that the funds are necessary to provide palliatives that would mitigate the adverse effects of fuel subsidy removal on the Nigerian populace.
The letter stated, "I write to the House of Reps to approve the amendment of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act in accordance with the attached document. The request has become necessarily important to, among other things, source funds necessary to provide palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians. Thus, the sum of N500 billion only has been extracted from the 2022 Supplementary Act of N819,536,937,815 for the provision of palliatives to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal."
In December of the previous year, the National Assembly had passed a supplementary budget amounting to N819 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. During that time, the legislature also extended the implementation of the 2022 budget until March 31, 2023.
In May 2023, the National Assembly further amended the 2022 supplementary budget to extend the implementation of the capital components until December 2023.
This latest approval by the House of Representatives signifies a significant step towards addressing the economic challenges faced by Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidies. The allocation of N500 billion for palliatives is expected to bring some relief and alleviate the financial burden experienced by citizens.
As this story unfolds, the implementation and impact of these palliatives will be closely monitored, with Nigerians eagerly anticipating the positive changes that this allocation can bring to their lives
