Following Wednesday’s adoption of the Senate Committee on Appropriation’s report at plenary, the Nigerian Senate has passed the N21.8 trillion 2023 budget.
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Jibrin Barau, said that the committee did a thorough job by examining inputs from its sub-committees before reaching the final figure.
“We hereby recommend that the Senate do consider and approve a Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CFR) of the Federation the total sum of N21.8 trillion.
“Of which N967 billion is for Statutory Transfers, N6.5 billion only is for debt service.
“N8.3 trillion is for recurrent (Non-Debt) expenditure.
“While N5.9 trillion for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending December 2023,” he said.
He said the budget was raised from the N20.5 trillion submitted by the Executive by N1.3 trillion.
Barau said that President Muhammadu Buhari laid before a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Oct. 7 the 2023 Appropriation Bill christened “Budget of Fiscal Consolidation and Transition.”
He said that the President had proposed an oil price benchmark of 70 dollars, which the National Assembly raised to 75 dollars.
“The Executive proposed an exchange rate of N435.57 to a dollar while the national assembly approved same,” he said.
In his remarks, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said the budget’s passage was in accordance with the National Assembly’s pledge to reverse the January- December budget cycle.
“This our fourth budget and last before the expiration of our tenure and we have kept that promise,” he said.
Lawan also urged the executive to strive hard to implement the 2022 supplementary budget.
“We have also passed the supplementary budget for 2022. We expect total implementation. No selective implementation,” Lawan said.
Meanwhile, the Senate has adjourned the plenary until Jan. 17, 2023.
