N/Assembly passes N28.7trn 2024 budget

• Approves Tinubu’s request to borrow $7.8bn, €100m

• Why we increased estimate by N1.2trn – Lawmakers

The National Assembly yesterday passed the 2024 Appropriation Bill, increasing the estimate to N28.7 trillion.

The budget was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives after the report of the Appropriation Committees in the two chambers was considered and adopted.

The estimate was increased by N1. 2 trillion and passed 31 days after it was presented to the parliament by President Bola Tinubu.

The president had presented N27.5trn to the joint chambers of the National Assembly on November 29, 2023.

The National Assembly also increased the exchange rate from N750 to N800 per dollar; while the 1.78mbpd daily oil production, US$77.96 oil benchmark price and GDP growth rate of 3.88 percent were approved as proposed by the executive arm of government.

A breakdown of the Appropriation Act indicates that N1,742,786,788,150 is for statutory transfers; N8,270,960,606,831, debt servicing; N8,768,513,380,852, recurrent (non-debt) expenditure and N9,995,143,298,028 as contribution to development fund for capital expenditure.

For statutory transfers, the National Judicial Council got the sum of N341,625,739,236; Niger-Delta Development Commission, N338,924,732,832, 28; Universal Basic Education Commission, N263,043,551,250,29; Senate N49,144,916,519; House of Representatives, N78,624,487,169.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the budget would immediately be transmitted to the president for his assent so that implementation could begin by January 1.

‘Why we increased estimate by N1.2trn’

Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, while fielding questions from journalists, explained that the N1. 2 trillion increase was because of the increase in exchange rate and the promise by Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) to increase their revenue.

He said, “The executive proposed N750 to a dollar, but after we studied it carefully, we increased it (exchange rate) to N800. And also we had a meeting with the GOEs, we believe that there submissions is not enough. They have agreed to increase their revenue. That how we are able to get that 1.2 trillion, which we applied to capital.”

Also, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Adeola Olamilekan Solomon, said the increase in the exchange rate to N800 to a dollar would fetch the government N446 billion as consolidated revenue while the government-owned enterprises pledged to increase their revenue by additional N784 billion, totaling N1.2 trillion.

He said the N1.2 trillion increase was added to the capital votes of some agencies, including transportation, works, housing, school feeding programme.

Tinubu’s $7.8bn, €100m loan request approved

The Senate has approved President Tinubu’s request to borrow $7.8billion and €100 million as part of the 2022 – 2024 borrowing plan of the Federal Government.

The request was approved after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on Local and Foreign Debt during Saturday’s plenary.

Tinubu had said the Federal Executive Council, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the loan facility on May 15 to finance infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, insecurity and other sectors.

He further explained that the foreign loan had become necessary to bridge the financial gap and return the economic activities of the country to normalcy.

The funds, he said, would be used to develop infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, security and employment as well as financial management reforms.

Similarly, the Senate also okayed Tinubu’s request to securitise the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N7.3trn Ways and Means advances to the Federal Government.

Tinubu had, in a letter read by the Senate President yesterday, said the securitisation aims to reduce debt service cost and extend the repayment period of the existing loans.

The Ways and Means provision allows the government to borrow from the Central Bank in the event that it requires short-term or emergency financing to support delayed government projected cash receipts of fiscal shortfalls.

The interest rate for the securitized Ways and Means advances has been reduced to 9% per annum, compared to the MPR of 0.3%.

“The savings arising from the much lower interest rate will have to reduce the deficit in the budget,” Tinubu said.