Jonathan wants NASS to re-adjust 2012 budget

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has asked the National Assembly to re-adjust the 2012 Appropriation Act as passed by the lawmakers.The request, he said, became imperative because of the review of the 2012 budget benchmark price for crude oil, which was reviewed from $70 per barrel to $72 per barrel.The president, in a letter dated April 12, addressed to the speaker, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, asked the lawmakers to alter the appropriation to the amnesty programme, with the most notable being the request for the increase allocation for 'reintegration of Niger Delta ex-militants from N924 million to N45.2 billion.'The president said the deficiency caused in the budget, through the increase in the oil benchmark on the revenue, expected to accrue to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Universal Basic Education (UBE).The president also requested for a reduction in the overhead of 'stipend and feeding allowance under the programme from N48.2 billion to N20.7 billion, increase in re-integration of Niger Delta ex-militants from N924 million to N42.2 billion; reduction of operations cost of the programme from N16 billion to N3.1 billion, while allocation for re-integration of transformed Niger-Delta ex-militants (2010 arrears) put at N4.1 billion was scrapped totally.However, a subhead re-insertion/transition safety allowance, which had zero allocation, was asked to be allocated the sum of N924 million.
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