Buhari Will Sign 2023 Budget Next Year – Lawan

GIOTV reports that President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the 2023 appropriation bill into law on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan, made the disclosure in an interview with State House correspondents on Friday evening.

He had met with Buhari at the presidential villa earlier on Friday.

Speaking after the meeting, Lawan said his discussions with Buhari centred on the 2023 appropriation bill and the recent additional loan request.

The senate president expressed regret that the 2023 budget signing is happening a bit later than that of 2022 which was signed on December 31, 2021.

Recall that lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate passed a budget of N21.83 trillion for the 2023 fiscal year on Wednesday.

The two chambers of the national assembly increased the budget spending by N1.33 trillion from the proposed N20.51 trillion to N21.83 trillion.

Buhari had proposed an oil benchmark fixed at $70 per barrel, but the lawmakers while passing the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), raised it to $73 per barrel.

Other parameters included daily oil production estimate of 1.69 million barrels (inclusive of condensates of 300,000 to 400,000 barrels daily) at exchange rate of N435.57/$.

The legislative bodies also passed the 2022 finance bill which aims to expand the tax net to increase revenue for the federal government.