By Haruna Gimba
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday signed the 2023 Budget of N21.83 trillion and the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill into law.
While signing the budget, the president said the aggregate expenditures of N21.83 trillion were increased by N1.32 trillion over the initial proposal of N20.51 trillion expenditures by the executive.
On the supplementary appropriation bill, the president said that the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act would enable the administration to respond to the havoc caused by the recent nationwide floods on infrastructure and agriculture sectors.
According to him, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning will subsequently provide more details of the approved budget and the supporting 2022 Finance Act.
“We have examined the changes made by the National Assembly to the 2023 Executive Budget proposal.
“The amended fiscal framework for 2023 as approved by the National Assembly shows additional revenues of N765.79 billion, and an unfunded deficit of N553.46 billion.
“It is clear that the National Assembly and the executive need to capture some of the proposed additional revenue sources in the fiscal framework. This must be rectified.
“I have also noted that the National Assembly introduced new projects into the 2023 budget proposal for which it has appropriated N770.72 billion. The National Assembly also increased the provisions made by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by N58.55 billion.”
President Buhari said his decision to sign the 2023 Appropriation Bill into law as passed by the National Assembly was to enable its implementation commence without delay, considering the imminent transition process to another democratically elected government.
He, however, directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to engage with the Legislature to revisit some of the changes made to the Executive budget proposal.
The president expressed the hope that the National Assembly would cooperate with the Executive arm of Government in this regard.
He urged the National Assembly to reconsider its position on his proposal to securitise the Federal Government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
To ensure more effective implementation of the 2022 capital Budget, Buhari thanked the National Assembly for approving his request for an extension of its validity date to March 31.
The president directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to work toward early release of the 2023 capital votes to enable MDAs commence the implementation of their capital projects in good time.
According to him, this is to support efforts to deliver key projects and public services as well as improve the living conditions of Nigerians.
He reiterated that the 2023 Budget was developed to promote fiscal sustainability, macroeconomic stability and ensure smooth transition to the incoming administration.
The president added that it was also designed to promote social inclusion and strengthen the resilience of the economy.
He said that adequate provisions had been made in the Budget for the successful conduct of the forthcoming general elections and the transition programme.
On achieving revenue targets for the budget, the president directed MDAs and Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) to intensify their revenue mobilisation efforts, including ensuring that all taxable organisations and individuals pay taxes due.
The president said relevant Agencies must sustain current efforts toward the realisation of crude oil production and export targets to achieve the laudable objectives of the 2023 Budget.
On the Finance Bill 2022, the president expressed regret that its review as passed by the National Assembly had yet to be finalised.
The signing of the budget was witnessed the signing of the budget include Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The president expressed the belief that the next administration would sustain the early presentation of the annual appropriation bill to the National Assembly to ensure its passage before the beginning of the fiscal year.
