President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday next week present the 2020 budget at a joint session of the National Assembly by 2pm.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, stated this at plenary on Thursday.
Also at plenary, the Senate approved all the 16 recommendations contained in the report of the National Assembly joint Committee on Finance and National Planning, on the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
The red chamber, among others, increased the proposed nation’s budget for 2020 from N10.002tn to N10.729.4tn.
The proposed increment of N727bn according to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Solomon Adeola, would be the proceed from the hike of the oil benchmark from $55 to $57 and the expected increment in the revenue of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Adeola added that the $2 increment in the oil benchmark would be used to pay the salaries of the proposed recruitment exercise being planned by the Federal Government into the Nigerian Army, Police, Immigration and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
He said the executive arm of government did not capture the salaries of the 30, 000 personnel it is planning to recruit into the Army, Police and other paramilitary agencies next year, in the documents.
Adeola also said the joint panel reduced borrowings with over N200bn because of the expected revenue from the Nigeria Customs Service.
He said the panel discovered that crude oil receipt account for over 50 per cent of the Federal Government revenue and about 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, hence crude oil production and export would continue to have important implication on federal fiscal operation.
The spokesperson for the Senate, Adedayo Adeyeye, who also briefed journalists on the issue, said Buhari would be at the National Assembly to lay the 2020 Appropriation Bill and that both chambers would adjourn plenary early to receive the President.
He said the President had agreed with the determination and zeal of the 9th National Assembly to revert to the January to December budget cycle to enable the Federal Government appropriately fund its various ministries and agencies.
He noted that the total Value Added Tax proposed in the 2020-2022 MTEF/FSP amounting to N2.3tn could be realised only after the amendment of the Finance bill has been passed into law by the National Assembly.
