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Buhari Regime To Spend N4billion On WhatsApp Tracking, N60billion On COVID-19 Vaccines In Supplementary Budget

Of the amount, recurrent (non-debt) expenditure will gulp N123billion, while N895billion will go into capital expenditure.

President Muhammadu Buhari in July signed the 2021 supplementary appropriation bill of N983billion into law.

Of the amount, recurrent (non-debt) expenditure will gulp N123billion, while N895billion will go into capital expenditure.

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The supplementary budget covers the procurement of security equipment, vaccines and other COVID-19 related equipment.

According to TheCable, the government plans to spend N4.87billion for “Whatsapp and Thuraya Interception Solutions” brings you highlights of the supplementary budget below:

The supplementary budget allocated N4.87 billion (4,870,350,000) for the National Intelligence agency (NIA). The provision is for the procurement of military intelligence equipment – Thuraya Interception Solution for N2.94billion and WhatsApp Interception Solution (N1.93 billion).

Despite public outcry and protest against the provision by the public, the lawmakers went ahead to approve the procurement for the executive arm as stated in the budget submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

From the supplementary budget, the Federal Ministry of Health got N2.8 billion to procure molecular laboratory equipment in national hospitals.

The hospitals include National Orthopedic hospital, Igbobi, National Eye Centre, Kaduna, National Ear Care Centre, Kaduna, National Fistula Centre Abakaliki, National Fistula Hospital, Katsina, National Fistula Hospital, Sokoto, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre Asaba Annex Aniocha.

They were allocated N300 million each for the equipment, while N400million is earmarked for the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, for the same purpose.

On other capital supplementary allocation, the federal government N67.44 billion (67,443,671,374) for the procurement and installation of oxygen plants as well as vaccine procurement for the country.

The breakdown showed that N60.3billion would be used to procure 29.8 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines under the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) arrangements.

The African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), a 10-member team drawn from across the continent, was established by the African COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, set up in November 2020 by the African Union. The essence is to ensure that the African continent secures sufficient COVID-19 vaccine doses to achieve herd immunity.

Further breakdown showed that the federal government intends to spend N20.63 billion as delivery cost of the vaccines to every ward and ensure the availability of workers to administer vaccines at primary health centres.

The remaining N6.2 billion was earmarked for the procurement and installation of new oxygen plants nationwide and some repairs of the plants in federal capital (FCT) hospitals.