the Senate of Nigeria disclosed that it will pass on 2023 Appropriations Bill of N20.5 trillion before the end of December
This is exposed by Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmed Lawan on Tuesday in Abuja at a reception organized after he received the national honor of Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON).
President Muhammed Buhari proposed the N20.5 trillion budget to the National Assembly last week.
The President of the Senate said:
In the budget titled “Fiscal Continuity and Transition Budget”Lawan stated that the Senate will begin debating the bill on Wednesday.
“Tomorrow, we will start the debate on the 2023 appropriation bill. As we have done in the last three sessions, we will pass it before the end of December.
“We have a purpose and we are focused. It is not for nothing that the presidency decided to honor the 12 of us.
“They are aware of our contribution not only to good governance but also to political stability.
“I firmly believe that the current national assembly has given a lot of input to the political stability of Nigeria. The records are there.
“People can see what we’ve done and the things we haven’t done. I believe our colleagues in the 9th senate are working hard.
On the number of female senators, the president of the senate said: “We don’t know why the number is small but they have capacity. These are very experienced legislators, adding that the Senate wants to see more women legislators because it is only reasonable.
He added that the number of recipients from the Senate for National Honors this time is the highest.
“We wisely agreed that whatever is good for Nigerians should be done.
“By the time we leave in 2023, we will leave with our heads held high.”
What you should know
- Last week, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2023 fiscal budget at the joint session of the National Assembly. Buhari proposed an annual budget of N20.51 trillion for the year 2023, a 19.8% increase compared to the N17.13 trillion approved for 2022 including the supplementary budget.
- Nairametrics Research Revelation that the budget is inadequate, citing that the total revenue available to fund the budget for the year is estimated at N9.73 trillion, leaving a deficit of N10.78 trillion, they said:
- On the other hand, recurrent expenditure increased by 19.68% from N6.91 trillion to N8.27 trillion, while debt service cost increased by 74.83% from N3.61 trillion to N6.31 trillion. of the proposed budget.
- While the aggregate budget proposal increased compared to last year, it appears the same when an inflation rate of 20.52% is considered. A grimmer picture is still painted when converted to dollars and compared to other African countries.
- Using the prevailing exchange rate of N439.2/$ in the official market, the 2023 budget stands at $46.7 billion, a huge difference compared to the likes of Egypt ($111 billion – 2022 budget), South Africa ( $119.1 billion), and India ($478.6 billion).