Both Chambers of the National Assembly on Wednesday passed the 2023 appropriation bill of 20.5 trillion naira for second reading.
The Senate referred the bill to its Committee on appropriation for further legislative action and expressed dissatisfaction over the rise in recurrent expenditure which is up from over 6 trillion naira this year to over 8 trillion budgeted for next year.
According to the lawmakers including Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South), Nigeria cannot continue to borrow to fund one percent of its population.
“Why is our recurrent expenditures going up, especially since technology has made our work easier?”
In his submission, Senator Isah Jibrin (Kogi East) said revenue generating agencies that are not remitting monies to the coffers of the federal government should be sanctioned.
Subsequently, the Senate asked its committee to report back in four weeks.
Similarly, in the House of Representatives, the lawmakers commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the intervention fund for the Academic Staff Union of Universities, as well as the improvement in the budget of the Judiciary.
They, however, questioned the parameters to fund the budget, describing them as unrealistic.
