TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2023 budget

  • 2023 budget: Senate vows to reduce N11.03 trillion deficit

    2023 budget: Senate vows to reduce N11.03 trillion deficit

    The N11.03 trillion deficit proposed in the N19.76 trillion 2023 budget as indicated in the 2023-2025 MTEF and FSP would be tackled by the National Assembly via necessary amendments of relevant provisions of the Finance Act.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on General Services, Sen. Sani Musa (APC Niger-East) made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Abuja.

    The Senate had, through its Committee on Finance at an interactive session with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed on 2023-2025 MTEF and FSP, decried the proposed deficit as proposed in the N19.76 trillion 2023 budget.

    Sen. Solomon Adeola (APC Lagos) and Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, had told heads of revenue generating agencies to evolve other sources of revenue generation to reduce borrowing and ultimately the deficit in the nation’s budget.

    Musa, however, said there was an urgent need to look into other areas beyond crude oil, to generate revenue to fund the budget and ultimately reduce the deficit in the budgetary provision.

    He said: “The budget of this country has been in deficit and the only thing we can do is to amend so many things in the Finance Act.

    He said this would enable the generation of more revenues from other sources rather than depending on oil alone and by extension, reduce the size of the proposed budget deficit.

    Musa said the ninth Senate had done creditably, given the laudable bills passed to improve the economy, adding that the renovation of the National Assembly complex was also a steering achievement of the ninth Assembly.

    He said given the renovation, a temporal chamber for plenary was being put in place for senators ahead of its resumption on Sept. 20.

    “By now the temporary chambers should have been ready knowing that we are resuming. Initially we are supposed to resume on the 20th of this month but there are some little things that need to be done before then.

    ”But I can assure the general public that this will be done in the shortest time and we are going to resume to receive Mr President and to present the 2023 Budget.

    “You will recall that the ninth Senate has done very well, because this edifice since it was built, has never been rehabilitated; we are refurbishing it, bringing it back to standard like any other parliament you see around the world.

    “The FCT that is doing this Job, has been up and doing, but we need to push, they need to do more so that we will be able to resume as quick as possible.”

    Commenting further on the general renovation work going on at the National Assembly, Musa said it was an overdue project and very necessary in making the NASS, particularly the hallowed Chambers, to meet up with global standard.

    “It is a great achievement for us that we are renovating the National Assembly complex that has been built over 20 years.

    ”What we read from the newspapers that NASS leadership has not done anything on the leaking roof, is not true.

    “This edifice is supposed to be managed and taken care by the FCT, because it is their property, but now we have taken it as a responsibility on us to make sure we renovate it.

    “I’m sure that by the time the renovation of the National Assembly chambers is completed, other African countries will come to see and make Nigeria as a case study and see how we have improved on parliamentary infrastructure.”

  • Speaker Gbajabiamila reveals date for 2023 budget presentation

    Speaker Gbajabiamila reveals date for 2023 budget presentation

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila says President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present the 2023 budget to the National Assembly in October.

    Gbajabiamila said this when he addressed newsmen on Wednesdy shortly after inspecting hearing rooms 028 and 234 of the House, which were expected to serve as the temporary chamber due to the ongoing renovation of the House complex in Abuja.

    “I am hoping that the budget will be presented latest by first week of October,” he said. The speaker said that configuration of the temporary chamber would be done, ahead of the Sept. 20 date for resumption of plenary.

    “You can see the configuration, it is not just this place and it is also upstairs. So, I think it is about 100 and something here and about 200 and something upstairs.

    “It has been configured in such a way that everything is connected and you can see the screens, I can see everybody upstairs, everybody presiding can see everybody upstairs and can see everybody downstairs.

    “Where we are right now, it will be ready on Tuesday, this work started in August, and it started few weeks behind time but for a good reason.

    “So far, between August and now, giant strides have been made. You can see the old chamber has been ripped apart,” he said.

    Gbajabiamila added:“We will at the end of the day be proud to have a chamber that will match the best standard all over the world; I am quite impressed with the work so far and I will encourage them to double the pace.” he said.

    He said that the renovation was largely for benefit of the incoming 10th Assembly as the main chamber was not going to be ready until August 2023.

  • FG plans to spend N19.76trn in 2023

    FG plans to spend N19.76trn in 2023

    The Federal Government is proposing to spend N19.76 trillion in 2023.

    Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, made the declaration in Abuja on Monday when she said the 2023 budget had a proposed deficit of N11.3 trillion.

    She was addressing a sitting of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

    Ahmed said government was projecting revenue of N8.46 trillion for 2023; N1.9 trillion of which would come from oil-related sources while the balance would come from non-oil sources.

    She said the budget would be premised on 70 dollars per barrel of crude oil and an exchange rate of N435.57 to the dollar.

    The minister said oil production for 2023 was pegged at 1.69 million barrel per day; a real GDP growth rate of 3.7 per cent and inflation rate of 17.16 per cent for the year.

    She hinted that petrol subsidy would remain up to mid-2023 sequel to the 18-month extension announced early in 2021.

    Ahmed added that N3.36 trillion would be provided to pay the subsidy in 2023.

    The minister also told the session that there would be tighter enforcement of performance management framework for Government-owned Enterprises that would significantly increase operating surplus/dividend remittances in 2023.

    Ahmed assured that there were no projections that Nigeria would default in her debt services in the nearest future.

    She assured also that while the amount currently used in debt servicing had overshot appropriation in the 2022 budget, systems had been put in place to manage the situation.

    “We planned that 60 per cent of revenue would be spent on debt servicing, but in some months, the ratio went up to 90 per cent.

    “We have been able to, consistently without fail, serviced our debt and we do not have any projections even in the near future that we will fail.

    “We actually follow the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy very strictly; the debts are not taken haphazardly and they are planned.

    “They are appropriated and then we borrow against appropriation,’’ she stressed.

    The minister acknowledged, however, that government was under pressure to manage debt servicing following the drop in revenue generation.

    She called on the National Assembly and on other stakeholders to join government to increase revenue performance.

    “We do have pressure in terms of the ratio because when revenue is underperforming, it means we have problems being able to service all of government’s (debts). The liquidity situation is very challenging.

    “That is why what we need to do, including the parliament, is to work towards increasing revenue performance.

    “Yes you have been doing that and we are beginning to see improvement, but we need to keep pushing the bar,’’ she stressed.

    Earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Rep. James Faleke (APC-Lagos State) said everyone was aware of Nigeria’s situation in terms of revenue generation.

    Faleke noted that Nigeria was short of revenue, and that so many things suffered when revenue was short.

    The Debt Management Office had earlier stated that Nigeria’s debt profile as at December 2021 stood at N39.55 trillion.

  • FG to include school security in 2023 budget

    FG to include school security in 2023 budget

    The Federal Government has promised to include the security of schools in the 2023 budget.

    The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stated this on Thursday in Abuja.

    She was speaking at the safe-school summit organised by the Emergency Coordination Center.

    In her words, “In 2023 budget, we will make sure we make specific budget to support financing of safety of our schools.”

    The Minister noted that the Federal Government would also be encouraging states to make specific commitments to the safety of schools.

    Zainab noted that consultation were underway with states, local governments and critical stakeholders to identify the most transparent, effective and accountable ways of mobilising and deploying resources.

    She also disclosed that the national financing plan for the security and safety of schools across the country would be unveiled before the end of the third quarter of this year.

    Also Read

    Plateau govt revokes licenses of all private Nur/Pry, secondary Schools

    The Minister said the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning had established a committee with members drawn from the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Education, the military and other security agencies, for this purpose.

    “The committee has been working assiduously to collate inputs from relevant MDAs and to develop a national plan for financing safe schools,” She added, “The plan will incorporate state level plans as well as Federal Government sectoral plans with an emphasis on ensuring adequate budgetary allocation in order to create a safe learning environment for teaching, learning and restoring confidence in the education system.

    “Consultations are currently on the way with states, Local Governments and other critical agencies of government. The committee is also working to identify the most transparent, effective and accountable ways of mobilising and deploying resources.”