PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has described Nigeria’s debt position as still within acceptable limits.
Buhari made the remark today while presenting the proposed 2023 budget to the leadership of the National Assembly for approval.
The ICIR had reported that Buhari would be appearing before a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives today, October 7, 2022, to present the 2023 appropriation bill.
This development followed the passing of the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) by the National Assembly during the week.
The MTEF/FSP is a document that contains parameters with which the annual budget is prepared.
The estimated expenditure for the 2023 fiscal year is N19.7 trillion with Total Recurrent (Non-Debt) of N8.53 trillion, Personnel Costs (Ministires, Departments and Agencies) of N827.8 billion; and Capital Expenditure (exclusive of transfers) of N3.96 trillion, according to the MTEF/FSP document.
The benchmark for crude oil price was put at $73 per barrel for 2023, the exchange rate at N437.57 and daily oil production of 1.69 million barrels per day (mbp/d), 1.83mbpd, and 1.83mbpd for 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively.
During the budget presentation, which was aired live on major national television stations and monitored by The ICIR, President Buhari said the government was monitoring the internally generated revenue (IGR) of MDAs.
He noted that the revenue and debt ratios needed close monitoring, adding that revenue shortfall remained the biggest risk.
Buhari, who urged individuals and corporate entities to pay taxes, stated that reducing government spending drastically could affect Nigerians.
Buhari further stated that the low performance of the nation’s oil sector affected the revenue drive in fiscal 2022.
He disclosed that as of July this year, N8.2 trillion had been spent out of the N17.69 trillion budget, adding that Nigeria met its debt obligations despite the challenges.
