The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has passed the 2020 appropriation bill with a slight increase, from N10.33 Trillion as Presented to the joint session of the National Assembly ny President Muhammadu Buhari on October 8 to about N10.6 Trillion.
In a report of the Committee on Appropriation, which was presented before it was passed, the chairman of the committee, Senator Barau Jibrin said that the N560.47 billion addition is for statutory transfers (a category into which the National Assembly budget falls).
The Senate maintained Nigeria’s daily oil production rate at 2.18 million per barrel, even as it increased the Oil Benchmark Price to $57 per barrel against the $55 proposed by the Executive.
The committee retained the inflation rate at 10.81 per cent and the exchange rate at N305-$1 as proposed by the executive. It also retained GDP Growth Rate at 2.93 per cent as proposed.
Jibrin said that the committee worked harmoniously with the Executive for the processing of the bill.
The Senate passed the budget with the breakdown as follows:
Statutory transfer – N560,470,827,235
Debt service – N2,725,498,930,000
Recurrent expenditure – N4,842,974,600,640
Capital expenditure – N2,465,418,006,955
Fiscal Deficit – N2.28 trillion
Deficit/GDP – N1.52 per cent
Jibrin explained that the increase allows for intervention in critical areas like security, infrastructure, mines and steel development, social development, among others.
He said that it is in line with the budget thrust of the government “which is focused on growing development and sustainable growth.”
He said that the committee adopted the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) as approved by the National Assembly.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, thanked his colleagues and the Executive for the cooperation, He also admonished the Executive to ensure the full and effective implementation of the budget of the budget.
He said that the ninth Senate has achieved one of its key promises to return the budget cycle to January – December.
“We have done so much in a short while; we have given the Executive everything they need – budget, finance bill, MTEF, among others.”
Lawan said that the Senate will interact with Ministries, Departments and Agencies on a quarterly basis in 2020 to monitor implementation of the budget.
“We hope that with this budget passed, the Executive will ensure full implementation for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
Source: PREMIUM TIMES.
