Both the Senate and House Representatives on Wednesday passed the 2023 appropriation bill at N21.83 trillion.
Also, the Lawmakers passed 2022 supplementary budget of N819.5 billion.
The passage of the budget showed an increase of N1.32 trillion from the N20.51 trillion budget proposal of President Muhammadu Buhari submitted to the joint sitting of National Assembly for consideration.
The breakdown of the budget as passed by both Senate and House of Representatives showed an allocation of N967.5 billion for statutory transfers, N6.6 trillion for debt servicing, N8.3 trillion for recurrent expenditure, and N5.9 trillion for capital expenditure.
The lawmakers increased the Oil Benchmark Price from $70 to $75 to reflect the current market values of the oil barrel in the international market.
The nation’s daily oil production rate was pegged at 1.69 million per barrel and the exchange rate at N435 per dollar.
The passage of the budget was a sequel to consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriation chaired by Senator Barau Jibrin.
Speaking on the budget, Jibrin said that the committee observed the need for stimulation of the economy through increased capital expenditure, which will make for infrastructural development.
The Senate, thereafter, dissolved into the Committee of Supply, which considered and passed the budget.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, applauded his colleagues for restoring the budget cycle to January to December, noting that the 2023 budget is the fourth and final budget to be passed by the ninth Senate.
Lawan implored executive to ensure the total implementation of the 2022 supplementary budget.
He also commended the National Assembly for passing previous finance bills which always guide the budget.
According to the upper chamber, the amendment of the 2022 Appropriation Act is to ensure the implementation of the key capital project in the Act, which has not been funded at this time.
The upper chamber said it is expedient that the capital projects be extended to prevent the problem of abandoning projects in the budget.
The supplementary budget is to address food security following devastating floods across the country as well as damages to road infrastructure and the water sector.
The National Assembly also passed the Finance Bill, which proposes key reforms to specific taxation, customs, excise, and fiscal laws.
The bill amends several laws, namely the Capital Gains Tax Act, Companies Income Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, Petroleum Profits Tax Act, as well as Stamp Duties Act, Value Added Tax, and Public Procurement Act.
Presenting his report on the Finance Bill, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr Solomon Adeola, said the bill is intended to enhance tax equity by bringing more economic sectors into the tax net and ensuring a fairer distribution of revenue receipts to all tiers of government.
The 2022 Finance Bill seeks to change the name of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to Nigeria Revenue Service.
The board is to be headed by a chairman who is separate from the management. The management will be headed by a chief executive who will be known as the Commissioner General.
The bill also increases the rate of the tertiary education trust fund tax from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent.
Tension in Senate over Buhari’s Request for Approval for Restructuring of N22.7trillion Ways and Means Advances
..Steps down for lack of details till further notice
The Senate was in rowdy session on Wednesday over request from President Muhammadu Buhari for restructuring of N22.7trillion Ways and Means advances collected by the Federal Government from Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) , within the last ten years .
President Buhari had in a letter read on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday last week , sought for restructuring of the N22.7trillion Ways and Means advances collected from CBN within the last ten years in addition to N1trillion to be collected as fresh domestic loan.
Buhari in the letter said Ways and Means are advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria to the federal government for emergency funding of delayed receipt of fiscal deficits .
The President in the request said : ” The ways and means advances by the Central Bank of Nigeria, to the federal government has been a funding option to the federal government to cater for short term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipt of physical deficit.
“The ways and means , balances as at 19th December 2022 is N22.7 trillion.
” I have approved the securitization of the ways and means balances along the following terms – Amount. N23 .7 trillion ,
Tenure 40years , Moratorium on principal repayment , three years , Pricing interest rate 9%, .
“Your concurrence and approval is sought to allow for the implementation of same”
After the reading of the President’s letter , Senate forwarded the request to.Senate Committee on Finance in line with parliamentary procedure .
However, trouble began when Chairman of the Committee , Solomon Olamilekan was called upon to present report the report .
Senator Betty Apiafi rose against it through constitutional point of order , by saying Ways and Means expenditure are not known to the Nigeria Constitution .
She was however ruled out of order by the President of the Senate , Ahmad Lawan for allowing the report to be presented before kicking against it.
Anger of the Senators mainly from the opposition against the report was expressed when being presented with negative background noise against its presentation by Senator Olamilekan.
In a move to kill the report , Senator Thompson Sekibo rose through constitutional orders by citing sections 80, 83, Section1,13(1) of the 1999 Constitution and section 38 of the CBN Act to kick against the request .
He said : ” Section 80 of the 1999 constitution as amended states that all revenues or other monies raised or recieved by the Federation, not being revenue and other monies payable under this constitution or any act of the National Assembly into any other public fund of the federation established for a particular purpose shall be paid into and for and form one consolidated revenue fund of the Federation
“No money shall be withdrawn from the consolidated revenue fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the fund or where the issue of those monies have been authorized by an appropriation act, supplementary act or an act passed in pursuance of section 81 of the constitution
“No money shall be withdrawn from any account other than the consolidated revenue fund of the Federation unless the issue of those monies have been authorized by the Act of the National Assembly.
“Section 80 (4) states that no money shall be withdrawn from the consolidated revenue fund or any other fund of the Federation except by the approval of the National Assembly, except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly .
” Section 38 of the CBN Act states ” any money collected by federal government as loan or emergency fund in form of Ways and Means Advances , must be refunded before collection of another one “
” Mr President , the relevant laws quoted , clearly shows that the N22.7triillion Ways and Means Advances already spent by federal government without informing the National Assembly was wrong and will be unfair as representatives of Nigerians to approve this request “, he said .
Efforts by the Senate President to force Senators to pass the report proved abortive as many of them , left their seats and shouting , no ! , no , which hurriedly made then to go into close session for about one and half hours.
After the closed session , the Senate as announced by Lawan , resolved to step down restructuring of N22.7trillion Ways and Means but approved N819.5billion from the fresh N1trillion being requested for .
The approved N819.5billion is for funding for 2022 supplementary budget .
For the others , a special committee was set up to summon the Minister of Finance , Zainab Ahmed , CBN governor , Godwin Emefiele and heads of other relevant agencies , for details on expenditure made from the N22.7triillion .
The Committee headed by the Senate Leader, Ibrahim Gobir (APC Sokoto East), is to submit its report on 17th January , 2023 when Senate resumes plenary from the New year recess .
The Senate later adjourned plenary for New Year recess to reconvene on January 17th, 2023.
