Buhari presents N19.76tr 2023 budget to NASS Friday

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Friday present the 2023 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, it has been learnt.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan read Buhari’s letter of request during plenary.

The presentation, according to the letter, will take place at 10 am at the temporary chamber of the House of Representatives due to ongoing renovation works in both chambers.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had said the Federal Government was proposing an aggregate expenditure of N19.76 trillion for the 2023 fiscal year.

Ahmed made this known at the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) interaction with the Senate Committee on Finance penultimate week.

She stated that the Federal Government was projecting total revenue of N8.46 trillion, out of which N1.9 trillion was expected to come from oil-related sources while the balance would come from non-oil sources.

Ahmed explained that the benchmark crude oil price was pegged at $70 per barrel and at an exchange rate of N435.57 to a dollar, oil production was put at 1.69 million barrels per day, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was projected at 3.7 per cent while inflation was put at 17.16 percent in the MTEF.

She said that petrol subsidy would remain up to mid-2023, based on the 18-month extension announced in early 2021, in which case only N3.36 trillion would be provided for it in the 2023 budget.

Ahmed also said the budget deficit for the 2023 fiscal year may be between N11.30 trillion and N12.41 trillion, depending on the choice that would be made by the federal government on the issue of fuel subsidy payment.

She however said she may not be able to make provision for treasury-funded capital projects in the 2023 fiscal year.

The finance minister also pointed out that Nigeria has been able to consistently service without defaulting, adding that the country does not have any projections even in the near future, to fail in its debt obligation.