FOUR states have been allocated N400 billion in the 2025 national budget for light rail projects to improve the transportation system countrywide.
The N400 billion for the light rail was allocated to projects in Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna and Kano states.
The National Assembly last Thursday passed the N54.99 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill.
The N400 billion, this newspaper learnt, was not part of the N54.2 trillion revised proposal that President Bola Tinubu presented to the assembly two weeks ago, seeking approval from the Senate and the House of Representatives.
This newspaper gathered that the N400 billion for the light rail is an addition by the lawmakers.
On February 5, President Tinubu sought an addition of N4.53 trillion to the budget, raising the proposal from N49.7 trillion to N54.27 trillion.
By the time the lawmakers approved the budget pushing the total to N54.99 trillion, N400 billion allocation to the new light rail projects in four states had been added.
Financing and construction of light rail systems are typically the responsibility of state governments.
It is not clear if the government funds for the light rail are a support grant or loan to the four states.
In the final approved budget, lawmakers allocated N150 billion to Kano, N100 billion each to Ogun and Kaduna, and N50 billion to Lagos for the rail projects.
The amount is said to be different from the plan to transfer N146.14 billion to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) as counterpart funding for the Lagos Green Line Metro Rail Phase 1 contained in the initial budget.
This brings the provision for rail projects in Lagos state alone to N196.14 billion in the 2025 budget.
