Buhari presents 2023 budget proposal of N20.5tn to National Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday presented 2023 appropriation bill of N20.5tn to the National Assembly, the last budget to be put together by his administration before bowing out of office in May 29 next year.

He made the budget presentation to the joint session of the National Assembly at the temporary chamber of the House of Representatives.

The National Assembly had earlier approved the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP) — parameters on which the 2023 budget will be framed.

Buhari said the 2023 transition budget was designed to address critical issues and lay a solid foundation for the incoming administration.

Christened ‘Budget of Fiscal Consolidation and Transition’, the President said the revenue generation should reach about N16.87tn.

A breakdown of the budget shows that N744.11bn was earmarked for statutory transfers; N8.27tn for non-debt recurrent costs; N1.1tn for overhead costs, and N5.35 trillion for capital expenditure.

Buhari said, “We expect the total fiscal operations of the federal government to result in a deficit of N10.78tn.”

“This represents 4.78 per cent of estimated GDP, slightly above the 3 percent threshold set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.

“As envisaged by the law, we need to exceed this threshold considering the need to continue to tackle the existential security challenges facing the country.”