By Bassey Udo
After seeking an upward review of the Federal budget from N13.98 trillion to N16.45 trillion, President Muhammadu Buhari is to present the proposed 2022 fiscal appropriation to the joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday.
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, said on Tuesday during the plenary that the President sought the review to the fundamental benchmarks upon which the preparation of the 2022 budget recently passed Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) were based.
Omo-Agege said the president was seeking the approval of the MTEF/FSP by the lawmakers to bring the proposals in line with the newly enacted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
A similar announcement was made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
But later, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in another letter read on his behalf by Ovie Omo-Agege, announced that Buhari would be presenting the approved 2022 Budget proposal to a joint session on Thursday.
In the letter, Buhari sought the approval of the lawmakers to effect some changes in the fundamental parameters in the MTEF/FSP approved for the 2022 budget to bring them in line with the newly enacted PIA.
The President said the fiscal effects of the PIA implementation were assumed to kick in by mid-year 2022.
“The revised 2022-24 fiscal framework is premised on a hybrid of January-June (based on current fiscal regime) and July-December (based on PIA fiscal regime), while 2023 and 2024 are now fully based on the PIA,” the President.
Details of the reviews showed that total expenditure in the proposed budget proposal for 2022 was projected to rise by N2.47 trillion, or 17.67 percent, from N13.98 trillion to N16.45 trillion.
The projected figures included government-owned enterprises (GOEs) and project-tied loan facilities.
Of the additional N2.47 trillion, Buhari said about N100 billion would be allocated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 general elections.
Another allocation of N54billion was proposed for the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), representing one percent of the federal government’s share of the federation account.
Another provision of N510 billion in the Service Wide Votes was for national poverty reduction programme with growth strategy (N300billion) and Police Operations Fund (N50 billion).
Health workers are to receive about N50 billion for Hazard Allowance, while N80 billion would for the public service wage adjustments, and additional N37 billion for the payment of electricity bills debt to the ministries, departments and agenies.
Another allocation of N1.70 trillion, the President said, would be provided Capital Supplementation (N179.1 billion); GOEs Capital (N222.1 billion); Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Expenditure (N290.7 billion); Multi-lateral /Bi-lateral project-tied loans by N517.5 billion; and MDAs Capital Expenditure (N390.5 billion), including the provision of N178.1billion for population and housing census scheduled for 2022.
The President said total deficit, including those of GOEs and project-tied loans, was projected to increase by N692.0 billion, or to 3.42 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), from 3.05 percent of GDP.
The gross revenue inflow to the Federation Account, the President said, was expected to decrease by N341.57 billion, from N8.870 trillion to N8.528 trillion.
Besides, he said deductions for federally-funded upstream project costs and payments for 13 percent derivation to oil producing states would decrease by N335.3 billion and N810.25 million respectively.
Net oil and gas revenue was projected to drop by N5.42 billion, from N6.540 trillion to N6.535 trillion.
