The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s proposed 2024 budget is 86 percent higher than that of 2023.

The EFCC and the Budget Ofice of the Federation are also at loggerheads over the commission’s proposed N76.5 billion budget.

After the EFCC revealed its budget for the coming year on Tuesday, the budget office pruned it to N43.1 billion.

The commission initially allocated N37.074 billion for personnel costs, N14.5 billion for overhead costs and N25 billion for capital expenditures.

However, a document sighted by FIJ showed that the budget office trimmed the overhead cost to N4.7 billion and the capital cost to N1.2 billion but retained the personnel cost.

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FIJ’s findings also showed that the proposed 2024 budget surpasses 2023’s budget by N35.4 billion. 2023’s proposed budget was N41.1 billion under the administration of Abdulrasheed Bawa, the immediate past EFCC chairman.

As seen in the 2023 proposed budget, the EFCC earmarked N36.8 billion for personnel cost, N3.8 billion for overhead and N530 million for capital cost. FIJ, however, found that N49.9 was eventually approved for the commission.

A breakdown of the approved budget for 2023 shows that N10.5 billion was allocated for overhead cost while N2.5 billion was earmarked for capital cost.

Additional documents on the 2024 budget sighted by FIJ revealed that the EFCC budgeted N441 million for electricity, N5 million for telephone utilities, N883 million for international travels and transport, N375 million for local travels and transport for training of officers and N732 million for international travels and transport for training of officers.

Also, while N60 million would be spent on internet charges, N2.2 billion would be spent on local travels and transport, N10 billion on purchase of fixed assets (land, office buildings, scanners, motor vehicles, generating set, computer printers, etc), N11 billion would be spent on the construction/purchase of office plus rehabilitation/repair of office building.

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A source within the National Assembly told FIJ that despite the budget office reducing the proposed budget to N43.1 billion, the EFCC is insisting on securing approval for the original budget amount.

According to the source, the commission’s budget covers expansion plans as well as plans to employ more personnel and build 14 zonal offices across states.

“They want to build the zonal offices because they stay in rented apartments,” the source told FIJ.

Meanwhile, the next step is for the Senate to either approve the trimmed version of the budget or the original sum proposed by the commission.