Reps kick over subsidy, debt profile as 2023 Appropriation Bill scales second reading

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading the 2023 appropriation Bill as members kicked against the continuous payment of fuel subsidy and high debt profile in the country.

The House of Representatives also said the two issues were the major factors crippling the nation’s economy.

Rep. Abubakar Fulata, Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, read the breakdown of the budget before the House at plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.

The lawmakers, while debating the general principles of the N20.5 trillion proposed 2023 Appropriation Bill, decried the projections by which the appropriation bill was predicted, describing it as “untenable and unrealistic.”

Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the Leader of the House, while leading the debate on the issue of subsidy, said the House passed an unprecedented bill to address the issue of subsidy, adding that Nigeria can now go into full withdrawal of subsidy.

He said that the funding provided in the security budget was to address the security concerns in the country, adding that it would improve security.

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Ado-Doguwa also said the recent strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities was also a concern to Nigerians, adding that the leadership of the House had been able to resolve the impasse.

Rep. Toby Okechukwu, the Deputy Minority Leader, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for bringing the budget at the right time, adding: “The things the budget did not contain were very significant.”

He expressed worry over the level of borrowing and that the debt servicing Nigeria would do in 2023  was huge.

Okechukwu also said: “The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) presupposed that subsidy should have ended by now.”

He said including subsidy in the budget was a breach of PIA Act, adding: “Time is of essence.

“The House should do its job.

“The government does not have the courage to undertake subsidy withdrawal at this time.”

Rep. Mohammed Monguno, Chief Whip, of the House, while justifying the need to borrow, said: “Our debt is still within the sustainable power and there is no cause for alarm.”

Rep. Leke Abejide, Chairman, House Committee on Customs and Excise, commended the National Assembly for keeping to the January to December budget in four years running.

Rep. Soli Sanda (APC-Katsina) called for the improvement of the tax administration and collection efficacy and an end to leakages by checking oil theft.

Sanda said that a performance framework that would bring good management must be brought in to address remittances in oil and gas.

On the personnel cost, the lawmakers urged Buhari to implement the resolutions of the Oransaye report as “too much is expended on personnel cost.”

The lawmakers also insisted on the need to block revenue leakages, adding: “The government Is being shortchanged billions of naira due to these leakages in Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”