President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2021 supplementary budget of N982.7 billion into law on Monday, July 26, 2021.⁣

Mr Umar El-Yakub, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, disclosed this to State House correspondents after he met with the President on Monday in Abuja, Nigeria

The 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Act which comes into effect from July 26, is targeted at the provision of military hardware and COVID-19 vaccines.

The budget is expected to be funded largely through new loans.

President Buhari’s approval would facilitate the procurement of security equipment but and also fund the establishment of molecular laboratories, oxygen plants, and the procurement of vaccines COVID-19 vaccines.

In June, President Buhari asked lawmakers in both Senate and House of Representatives to approve a 2021 Supplementary Budget estimate of N895,842,465,917 in separate letters to the leadership of both chambers.

He had explained that the budget was to fund the procurement of equipment for the military, procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and provision of additional funds for the Public Service Wage Adjustment in health and other sectors.

Thereafter, the lawmakers directed the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriation to work on the President’s request.

At a joint session of the lawmakers on July 7, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau, as well as his counterpart in the House, Muktar Betara, submitted their reports.

The lawmakers went on to pass an increased sum of N982,729,695,343 as the approved 2021 Supplementary Budget estimate.

Of the figure, N123,332,174,164 was for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N859,397,521,179 was earmarked for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure for the year ending on December 31, 2021.