Analysts are projecting the 2023 fiscal year may not be as rosy as the government budget projects. They suspect the elections could throw the economy out of gear for the first six months as they call on the government to address the structural challenges.
Nigeria’s National Assembly has passed the 2023 appropriation bill to fund the fiscal year. If President Buhari signs in the next three days, his Administration will have about N21.8 trillion to fund its final year in office.
This amount is N1.32 trillion more than originally requested by the federal government. The total budget is at least a 20 percent increase in the 2022 budget.
The Senate also passed more than N800 billion in supplementary funding for the government. This is to be drawn from domestic loans to help support flood recovery efforts. However, the senate couldn’t agree on the president’s request to approve over N28 trillion taken from Central Bank Nigeria to fund government business in the outgoing fiscal year.
President Buhari’s plan is to have the already spent funds approved as a 40-year bond. The Senate plans to take a decision on that at a later date.
Analysts who spoke on Village Square Africa want the government to address the structural deficiencies, cut unnecessary expenditures, and plug revenue leakages in order to rake up government savings. They opine that this could help the government keep its debt ratio at sustainable levels.
Watch the full interview here