2023 Budget: Reps Commence Second Reading, Debate Estimates

The House of Representatives will on Wednesday (today) commence the second reading of the 2023 Appropriation Bill, with members expected to debate the general principles of the Federal Government for the next fiscal year.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase, who presided over the plenary on Tuesday, said the debate would have commenced on Tuesday but for some reasons.

Wase, therefore, urged members who were interested in speaking on the budget to write down their names after the day’s session.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday laid the money bill before a joint session of the National Assembly.

Of the N20.51trn budget, including N2.42tn spending by GOEs, statutory transfers amount to N744.11bn; non-debt recurrent costs, N8.27tn; personnel costs, N4.99tn; pensions, gratuities and retirees’ benefits, N854.8bn; overheads, N1.11tn; capital expenditure, N5.35tn, including the capital component of Statutory Transfers; debt service, N6.31tn; and sinking fund of N247.73bn to retire certain maturing bonds.

The parameters for the budget include an oil price benchmark of $70 per barrel; projected oil production/output at 1.69 million barrels per day, inclusive of condensates of 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day; exchange rate of N435.57 to a dollar; projected Gross Domestic Products growth rate of 3.75 per cent; and 17.16 per cent inflation rate.