Lawmakers across the various party lines lauded the president’s budget, especially its attempt to reduce the budget deficit.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South), said, “We have a budget of N9.7tn current expenditure and N8.7tn capital expenditure.
“For the first time, we have a budget that is not all going into the payment of salaries. This is even more than the 30 per cent benchmark in the last 10 years of having a budget presentation where 25 per cent is used for capital projects and the rest is spent on expenditure. Now the recurrent expenditure and capital project are very close.
“45 per cent debt servicing is not bad except that we have to borrow more remember last year debt to GDP was about six per cent but now debt to GDP is three per cent. We have a deficit financing of N8.7tn and that means that we are going to fund that on external borrowing.”
Buttressing his colleague, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Solomon Adeola, (APC, Ogunjobi West) stated that this was the budget that would benefit the country.
Adeola stated, “We have a budget whose deficits going down and the capital expenditure is going up. That shows that for the first time, we are having a paradigm shift and this we believe is going to continue.
“I believe this is a step in the right step and the president has also emphasised the issue of revenue-generation drive. What stood out for us is the issue of revenue to ensure that the budget can be well-funded. The president has done so well on the issue of revenue funding.”
Also, the Chairman Senate Committee on Public Account, Aliya Wadada (SDP, Nasarawa South) said, “It is obvious the President’s agenda is a people-oriented budget.”
Senator Sani Musa, Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, added, “We never had it so good in the budget presentation where the capital expenditure has been raised to about N8tn and though the deficit has increased, the debt servicing has reduced.
“We are looking at making the dollar N750 instead of 700, which means we are going to get more revenue from that. The crude oil price has been increased from $73 to more than $76, which is good. In a nutshell, you can see that the budget is different from the previous ones that we have had where the debt servicing is far more than the capital budget.
“Now the capital budget has been raised to N8tn, which is unprecedented. I believe this budget will handle the renewed hope of Nigerians.”
At the adjourning of the plenary, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, noted that the budget would be passed “between Thursday and Friday after which the plenary would be adjourned till December 12. “
He added, “The adjournment will enable lawmakers in each committee to entertain MDAs for their respective budget defence.”
In the same vein the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon Akin Rotimi stated that lawmakers were very impressed by the President’s budget. He said, “The National Assembly is going to scrutinise the budget and we hope that we will be able to pass it in the next few weeks.
“The budget is coming in good time to allow us a good time to allow for it to be passed December 31. We are going to have a budget town hall to ensure that the budget is people-oriented. We would have a town hall where Nigeria can have a say.”
