Budget allocations for food and catering supplies for the offices of the President, Vice-President, and State House headquarters have increased by 20 percent from 2022 to 2024.
Despite remaining constant at N702.95 million for both 2022 and 2023, the budget surged to N845.07 million in 2024.
Over the three-year period, the office of the President allocated a total of N856.57 million, while the Vice President’s office received approximately N650.84 million.
The State House headquarters also set aside N743.55 million during this time.
On November 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu presented the 2024 appropriations bill to a joint session of the 10th National Assembly in Abuja.
Following Senate approval, the budget was signed into law on January 1, 2024, totaling N28.7 trillion, reflecting an increase of N1.2 trillion from the original proposal of N27.5 trillion.
The Senate’s adjustments brought the budget from N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
The breakdown for food and catering supplies indicates that N245.14 million was allocated for the State House administration, N301.14 million for the office of the President, and N156.66 million for the office of the Vice President.
These allocations remained unchanged in 2023, but in 2024, the budget designated N253.27 million for the State House headquarters, N254.27 million for the President’s office, and a notable increase to N337.52 million for the office of the Vice President.
Investigations by The PUNCH through GovSpend, a civic tech platform that monitors Federal Government expenditures, revealed that the State House administration disbursed approximately N566.22 million for rice and other food supplies between March and September 2024.
Payments were made through various accounts to several suppliers, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Retail Limited.
On March 1, the State House processed payments totaling N275,633,850 to Samdan Global Construction and Resources Limited for the provision of 1,095 bags of 50 kg rice and 4,095 cartons of seasoning cubes.
Additionally, on the same day, N280,590,000 was paid to Victor Adeks Nigeria Limited for another 3,000 bags of 50 kg rice.
During a presentation on the 2023/2024 budget implementation on October 8, Mr. Olufunso Adebiyi, the Permanent Secretary of the State House, stated that the State House achieved 43 percent implementation of capital projects for 2024 and an impressive 99 percent for overhead expenditures.
He welcomed the increased allocation to the State House in the 2024 budget, highlighting the considerable demands faced by various cost centers during a challenging fiscal period.
“This has gone a long way in enhancing our performance as an important arm of government, especially with regards to the welfare of staff and various capital projects such as the renovation of the residential quarters of the President, Aguda House, computerization and digitalization of the State House, construction of an office complex, replacement of operational vehicles, and others,” he said.
Further insights into budget performances were provided by Adebiyi, who disclosed that N1.65 billion was approved for personnel costs in 2023, with the total amount spent being N1.65 billion, leaving a balance of N439,433.66.
For overhead expenditure, N8.29 billion was appropriated, and N8.27 billion was spent, resulting in a remaining balance of N14.5 million, reflecting a remarkable implementation rate of 99.82 percent.
In terms of total capital expenditure for 2023, N11.2 billion was approved, with N10.9 billion expended, showcasing an overall performance of 98 percent.
Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, criticized government spending practices, emphasizing the need for regulation to align with the country’s economic realities.
“We all know that, until now, there is so much profligacy in government. And until we have a new constitution that regulates government spending, we will still be battling with the problem,” he stated.
As of the time of this report, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, could not be reached for comments.
However, in a previous statement, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi, clarified that the budget allocations do not solely benefit the President and Vice President.
Ajayi explained, “When the State House makes provision for vehicles, it is reported that the President will use all the vehicles or eat all the food when a provision is made for food and catering services. A President and Vice President cannot, for any reason, spend N20 million to eat in a year if it is about the food they will eat as first and second families. How much food can a person really eat?
“In actual fact, such budgetary provisions are made to accommodate many state events, meetings, hosting of VIPs, foreign dignitaries, and even visits by other Heads of State and bilateral and multilateral meetings that the State House will deal with in a given year.”
