President Muhammadu Buhari has presented a budget estimate of N20.51 trillion for 2023 to the joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives at the National Assembly. A break down of the proposal showed a N2.42 trillion spending by Government-Owned Enterprises. The budget of N20.51trillion is  about N750 billion higher than N19.76trillion earlier proposed in the 2023 – 2025  Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Also the 2023 budget proposal is higher than N17.23 trillion  aggregate expenditure for 2022 by N3.28trillion. Addressing the Senators and members of the House of Representatives President Buhari described the 2023 appropriation as a budget of “fiscal sustainability and transition”. He said that the budget “reflects the serious challenges currently facing our country, key reforms necessary to address them, and imperatives to achieve higher, more inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth.” The President said that  the principal objective in 2023 is to maintain fiscal stability and ensure a smooth transition to the incoming administration. With the budget, Nigeria will have to borrow N8.80 trillion, almost half of the entire budget size to finance the deficit of N10.78 trillion.  The rest monies needed to finance the budget will come from proceeds from sales of national assets. Yet Nigeria will have to spend another N6.31 trillion from the roughly N9 trillion that will be left to service outstanding debts, thereby leaving the government with a meagre sum of  N3 trillion that will be easily gulped by  fuel subsidy regime. 

President Buhari  however lowered projection of budget deficit by pegging it at N10.78 trillion against N11.30 trillion proposed in the MTEF/ FSP documents but said that the  N10.78 trillion would be funded by projected N8.80 trillion new borrowings and proceeds from privatised assets and others, adding, “We plan to finance the deficit mainly by new borrowings totalling N8.80 trillion, N206.18 billion from Privatisation proceeds and N1.77 trillion drawdowns on bilateral/multilateral loans secured for specific development projects/programmes.” The budget proposal earmarked N3.6trillion to fund  fuel subsidy from January to June next year with warning that the subsidy regime must stopped in saving the Nation’s economy from avoidable bleedings on yearly basis. According to the President, critical assumptions and parameters upon which the projected N20.51trillion 2023 budget is based are;  Oil price benchmark of $70 per barrel, daily oil production estimate of 1.69 million barrels per day,  exchange rate of N435.57 per dollar; projected GDP growth rate of 3.75 per cent and 17.16 per cent inflation rate. Other critical components of the budget are: N744.11billion for   Statutory Transfers , N8.27trillion for Non-debt Recurrent Costs, N4.99 trillion for Personnel Costs , N854.8 billion for   Pensions and  Gratuities of Retirees.

Others are N1.11trillion for  Overheads cost, N5.35trillion for Capital Expenditure including the capital component of Statutory Transfers, N6.31 trillion for  Debt Service and N247.73 billion as Sinking Fund to retire certain maturing bonds. President Buhari said that based on the parameters, total federally-collectible revenue is estimated at N16.87 trillion in 2023 fiscal year. He said, “total federally distributable revenue is estimated at N11.09 trillion in 2023, while total revenue available to fund the 2023 Federal Budget is estimated at N9.73 trillion. This includes the revenues of 63 Government-Owned Enterprises. Oil revenue is projected at N1.92 trillion, Non-oil taxes are estimated at N2.43 trillion, FGN Independent revenues are projected to be N2.21 trillion. Other revenues total N762 billion, while the retained revenues of the GOEs amount to N2.42 trillion. The 2023 Appropriation Bill aims to maintain the focus of MDAs on the revenue side of the budget and greater attention to internal revenue generation.”

As a way of ending the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU) and revitalising  Tertiary Institutions in the country , President Buhari disclosed that the government has   earmarked a total of  N470billion for that purpose, adding that  the allocation, though drawn from the government’s constrained resources, was part of its effort to resolve the issue of paralysed activities in public universities. The allocation comes amid the lingering strike in public universities which has left schools closed for over seven months. The striking lecturers have resolved to stay off work until their demands are met. Part of their demands are rehabilitation and revitalisation of universities as well as better welfare for lecturers. According to Buhari,  he expects the staff of these institutions to show a better appreciation of the current state of affairs in the country as the federal government is appalled by the crisis that has paralysed activities in the public universities in the country. He said, “The Government notes with dismay the crisis that has paralysed activities in the public universities in the country. We expect the staff of these institutions to show a better appreciation of the current state of affairs in the country. In the determined effort to resolve the issue, we have provided a total of N470.0 billion in the 2023 budget from our constrained resources, for revitalisation and salary enhancements in the tertiary institutions.

“Distinguished Senators and Honourable members, it is instructive to note that today Government alone cannot provide the resources required for funding tertiary education. In most countries, the cost of education is jointly shared between the government and the people, especially at the tertiary level. It is imperative therefore that we introduce a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education. The Government remains committed to the implementation of agreements reached with staff unions within available resources. This is why we have remained resolute that we will not sign any agreement that we would be unable to implement. Individual institutions would be encouraged to keep faith with any agreement reached in due course to ensure stability in the educational sector”, he said. Buhari pledged commitment to the implementation of agreements reached with staff unions within available resources. He said that it is for this reason that his government remained resolute not to sign any agreement that it would be unable to implement, adding that the government is committed to improving the quality of education at other levels. He also pledged to remain committed to the effective implementation of the Safe Schools Policy. He said that for that reason, a total of 15.2 billion has been specifically provided in the 2023 budget to scale up current measures to provide a safer and conducive learning environment in our schools.

Buhari said that  constant electricity supply will come to reality in 2025 based on fast improvements being made in that direction  particularly with projected additional 7,000 megawatts by 2024. According to him “We have transformed Nigeria’s challenging power sector, through bespoke interventions such as the Siemens Power Program, with the German government under which over 2 billion US Dollars will be invested in the Transmission Grid. We have leveraged over billions of US dollars in concessional and other funds from our partners at the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, African Development Bank, JICA as well as through the Central Bank of Nigeria, working with the Finance Ministry, to support the power sector reforms. The Central Bank has also been impactful in its interventions to roll out over a million meters to on-grid consumers, creating much needed jobs in assembly and installation. Our financing interventions have recently been complemented with the takeover of four electricity distribution companies and the constitution of the Board of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company.

On the generation side, we have made significant investments in and incremental 4,000MW of power generating assets, including Zungeru Hydro, Kashimbila Hydro, Afam III Fast Power, Kudenda Kaduna Power Plant, the Okpai Phase 2 Plant, the Dangote Refinery Power Plant, and others. “Our generation efforts are making the transition from a reliance on oil and diesel, to gas as a transitional fuel, as well as environmentally friendly solar and hydro sources. Under the Energising Education Programme, we have commissioned solar and gas power solutions at Federal Universities and Teaching Hospitals at Kano, Ebonyi, Bauchi and Delta States. Similarly, our Energising Economies Programme have taken clean, sustainable power solutions to the Sabon-Gari Market in Kano, Ariaria Market in Aba, and Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos.