FG to borrow N819.5bn to supplement 2022 budget
.As Senate sets to pass 2023 budget, Finance Bill, Buhari’s supplementary request today
.Reps okay N95.26bn FG power company budget
By Tunde Opalana, Abuja
Less than 10 days to the end of the year, the Federal Government is seeking parliamentary approval of N819,536,937,813 to supplement the 2022 budget .
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday forwarded a letter to the Senate requesting approval of said amount to fix various infrastructure destroyed by flood across the various states in the country.
According to President Buhari, the supplementary budget is meant for the capital expenditure component of the 2022 budget.
If approved, the budget deficit for the year 2022 fiscal year will rise to N8.17trillion as President Buhari added that the proposed N819.5bn supplementary budget will be financed by additional domestic borrowings.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan read Buhari’s letter at plenary on Wednesday.
The letter reads: “The year 2022 has witnessed the worse flood incident in recent history which has caused massive destruction of farm lands at a point already closed to harvest season.
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“This may compound the situation of food security and nutrition in the country. The flood has also devastated road infrastructure across the 36 states and the FCT as well as bridges nationwide that are critical for movement of goods and services.
“The water sector was equally affected by the flood and there is a need to complete some ongoing critical projects that have already achieved about 85 percentage completion.
“The nine critical projects proposed in the sector cuts across water supply, dam projects and irrigation projects nationwide.
“I have approved a supplementary budget of 2022 appropriation of N819.536 Billion, all of which are capital expenditure.
“The supplementary will be financed through additional domestic borrowings which will raise the budget deficit for 2022 to N8.17 .trillion and deficit to GDP ratio to 4.43%”.
Lawan thereafter forwarded the request to Senate Committees on Appropriation, Finance, Works, Water Resources and Agriculture for expeditious consideration.
The supplementary budget will be passed today alongside the N20.51trillion 2023 appropriation bill.
The Senate President also disclosed that the much expected Finance Bill 2022 as well as the 2023 Federal Inland Revenue Service Budget (FIRS) would be passed today being the last sitting day in the year before the lawmakers vacate for festive season break.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives at plenary on Wednesday approved a total sum of N95.26 billion budget for the Federal Government Power Company Limited for the 2022 financial year.
The approval, coming barely 10 days to the end of the 2022 financial year, followed approval report of the House committee on power at plenary, same day.
Out of total sum of N95.26 billion approved, N2.82 billion is for overhead costs, N867.80 billion goes for personnel cost while N91.56 billion is for capital expenditure.
Laying the report, Power Committee Chairman, Magaji Da’u Aliyu asked the House to consider the report on the issue from statutory revenue fund of the Federal Government Power Company Limited, with total Sum of N95, 261, 665, 187.00 only for total expenditure.
“The sum of N2, 823, 904, 716 (two billion, eight hundred and twenty-three million, nine hundred and four thousand, seven hundred and sixteen naira) only is for overhead costs while the sum of ₦867, 800, 471 (Eight hundred and sixty-seven million, eight hundred thousand, four hundred and seventy-one naira) only is for Personnel Costs.
“The sum of N91, 569, 960, 000 (Ninety-one billion, five hundred and sixty-nine million, nine hundred and sixty thousand naira) only is Capital Expenditure for the year ending 31 December 2022,” the report stated.
