The Senate at its plenary session of Wednesday, 1 March 2019 commenced debate on the general principles of the 2019 Appropriation Bill. The Bill seeks to authorize the sum of N8, 826, 636, 578, 915 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation as the proposed expenditure for the 2019 fiscal year.
Leading the debate on the Bill, Majority Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan stated that the 2019 Expenditure comprises of:-
- Recurrent Cost of N4.04 Trillion;
- Debt Service of N2.14 Trillion;
- Statutory Transfer of N492.36 Billion;
- Sinking Fun of N120 Billion (which will be used to retire maturing bonds to local contractors);
- Capital Expenditure of N2.031 Trillion
Sen. Lawan informed the law makers that the 2019 Appropriation Bill was based on the following assumptions and macro framework:-
- Oil Price Benchmark of $60 per barrel;
- Oil Production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day;
- Exchange Rate of N305/$;
- GDP Growth of 3.01%;
- Inflation Rate of 9.98%;
- Nominal Consumption of N119.28 Trillion; and
- Nominal GDP of N139.65 Trillion
Lastly, he explained that the 2019 Appropriation Bill is intended to sustain the economy on the path of inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth and has been tailored to meet the critical need of the country before urging lawmakers to ensure prompt passage.
Although lawmakers responded to the Majority Leader’s call by unanimously expressing support for the passage of the Bill, they also called on the Federal Government to ensure its timely presentation to avoid unnecessary delays in implementation.
The Senate is expected to resume debate on the 2019 budget on Tuesday, 19th March, 2019 as it temporarily suspended further deliberations on the Bill on Thursday 14th March to enable re-elected lawmakers receive their Certificate of Return at the International Conference Centre. It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday, 20 December 2018 presented the 2019 Budget at a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly.
Click here to view the Lead Debate on the 2019 Budget
