Proposes N10.78trn deficit | Earmarks N6.31trn for debt servicing, N5.35trn as capital expenditure
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday presented the 2023 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, unveiling his robust plan for industrialization by supporting Small and Medium Scale Enterprises amongst other things.
The President further advised the National Assembly against distorting the budget proposal, noting that it should be approved as a whole.
The document tagged, “Budget of Fiscal Stability and Transition” showed a total budget of N20.51 trillion which represents about N750 billion increase from the N19.76 trillion projected in the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper already passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
Out of the N20.15 trillion, N8.27 trillion was proposed as non-debt recurrent costs, N6.31 trillion earmarked for debt servicing, N5.35 trillion for capital expenditure (including the capital component of statutory transfers) while N4.99 trillion was earmarked for personnel costs.
A total of N1.11 trillion was recorded as overheads, N854.8 billion as pensions, gratuities and retirees’ benefits and N744.11 billion as statutory transfers. A sinking fund of N247.73 billion was earmarked to retire certain maturing bonds.
President Buhari while presenting the budget estimate for the last time in an annual ceremony which lasted for about 90 minutes, noted that the expenditure policy of the government in the year 2023 was designed to achieve the strategic objectives of the National Development Plan 2021 to 2025.
This, according to the president include macroeconomic stability; human development; food security; improved business environment; energy sufficiency; improving transport infrastructure; and promoting industrialisation focusing on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
Members of the National Assembly were forewarned by the President against inserting anything into the budget proposal, stressing that it should be approved in its whole.
Additionally, he issued a warning to the National Assembly’s pertinent committees to refrain from approving GOE budgets that conflict with his approval and to convey this information directly to MDAs. The president claims that this is unlawful and must stop.
“I have directed the minister of finance, budget and national planning to immediately work on mainstreaming these reforms and work with the National Assembly on passing an organic budget law which I hope to assent to before the end of this administration.
“I would like to implore the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure that the budget I lay here today, which includes those of the GOEs, be returned to the presidency when passed. The current practice where some committees of the National Assembly purport to pass budgets for GOEs, which are at variance with the budgets sanctioned by me, and communicate such directly to the MDAs is against the rules and needs to stop,” he stated.
