President Buhari

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, signed into law the 2023 budget proposal of N21.83tn along with the 2022 supplementary appropriation bill. It is the eighth and final budget of his regime. Buhari signed the 2023 budget at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other members of the Federal Executive Council. While commending the National Assembly for its near-seamless relationship with the executive arm, Buhari urged the legislature to reconsider its stance on his proposal to securitise the Federal Government’s outstanding Ways and Means balance of N22.7tn at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Failure to grant the securitisation approval, he warned, would cost the government about N1.8tn in additional interest in 2023 and a 40-year repayment period on the securitised debt. Buhari’s appeal comes barely one week after the Senate rejected his request to restructure the N22.7tn Ways and Means advances.
Punch ( Except headline)