The President of the Country, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has signed into law the 2023 Budget of N21.83tn along with the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill.
He signed the 2023 transition budget on Tuesday morning at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other members of the Federal Executive Council.
Speaking at the eight and final annual budget of his tenure,the President said his regime would speed up critical infrastructure projects nationwide as it raced toward the finish line on May 29, 2023.
He noted that the budget is N21.83 trillion aggregate expenditure, an increase N1.32 trillion over the initial executive proposal of N20.51 trillion by the national assembly.
The President, whilst commended the National Assembly for its near-seamless relationship with the executive arm, urged the legislature to reconsider its stance on his proposal to securitise the Federal Government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Failure to grant the securitisation approval, he warned, would cost the government about N1.8tn in additional interest in 2023 and a 40-year repayment period on the securitised debt.
THEPUNCH maintained that this appeal comes barely one week after the Senate rejected his request to restructure the N22.7tn Ways and Means advances.
As stated by the President, his decision to sign the 2023 Appropriation Bill into law as passed by the National Assembly was to enable swift implementation considering the imminent transition process to another democratically elected government.
However, he 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, expressing the hope that the National Assembly would cooperate with the Executive arm of Government in this regard.
The Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning will provide details of the approved budget and the 2022 Finance Act later.
In order to achieve the targets set to meet the new budget, President Buhari has directed public enterprises to intensify their revenue mobilisation efforts, including ensuring that all taxable organisations and individuals pay their due taxes.
