A virment is an accounting process that allows the transfer of items from one financial account to another.Included in the virement was the sum of N25 billion proposed for payment of local contractors and other liabilities.
Mustapha Dawaki, chairman, House Committee on Appropriation who sponsored the motion, explained that “affected agencies justified the need for intervention and approval of the virement for their respective agencies.”
He however noted that “there are other areas of critical need with potentials for development and stimulating the economy and for which additional funds could be provided through virement from the special intervention programme.”
The breakdown of the increases showed that the fund for Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Missions) was jerked from N14.67billion to N16.35billion (representing N1.68billion increase); Public Complaint Commission got N2.5 billion as salary shortfall against the sum of N1.2 billion requested for while N25 billion was provided for payment of local contractors debts/other liabilities which was not captured by the Presidency.
However, the exact amount requested for other sub-heads were passed accordingly.
These include: N71.80billion for Public Service Wage Adjustment; N35 billion for the Amnesty Programme, while N19.79billion is for mobilisation of corps members.
Other requests are: N13.933billion for Operation Lafiya Dole; N12.71billion for Nigerian Air Force; N5.21billion for Internal operations of the Armed Forces; N2 billion for margin of increase in cost (service wide vote) and N1.5 billion is for Presidential Initiative on North East.
Under the Contingency subhead, N932.40million is for Cadet Feeding of Police Academy, Kano while N900 million is voted for augmentation of meal subsidy for Unity Colleges.
Dawaki also informed the House of the request for the virement of the sum of N300 million appropriated in the 2016 budget for the reconstruction of fallen towers, replacement of glass insulators for Gagarawa, Jigawa State which was initially approved for the construction of a 13KVA substation in Gwaram, Jigawa state under the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Recall that Femi Gbajabiamila, Majority Leader, had on the 16th November, 2016 raised a substantive motion requesting the passage of the virement request to the appropriate Committees for further legislative action, which was approved without any dissenting voice.
