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Nigerian Senate Holds Emergency Session, Extends 2022 Budget Implementation To December 2023

Nigerian Senate Holds Emergency Session, Extends 2022 Budget Implementation To December 2023
May 27, 2023

The upper the legislative chamber amended both the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act and CBN Act on Saturday during an emergency session.

The Senate has amended the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to extend the implementation year from the 30th of June to the 31st of December, 2023.

The Senate also amended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act to increase the total CBN advances to the Federal Government from five percent (5%) to a maximum of fifteen percent (15%).

The upper the legislative chamber amended both the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act and CBN Act on Saturday during an emergency session.

SaharaReporters had reported in December that the National Assembly approved supplementary budget and to ensure its full implementation, extended the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act from 31st December 2022 to 31st March 2023.

But raising the debate at the plenary, the Senate Leader, Abdullahi Gobir, told the Senators that significant amounts of funds remain with MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) and would require a further extension to be fully expended.

Citing some critical projects nearing completion, the Senate Leader said requesting a further extension of the expiration clause in the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill would save avoid compounding the problem of abandoned projects as some of them were not provided for in the 2023 Budget.

The Senate is therefore amending the 2022 appropriation act to allow full utilisation of the capital releases to help reflate the economy.

On amendment of the CBN Act, the Senate Leader, who read the lead debate on the bill, said the proposed amendment is to enable the Federal Government to meet its immediate and future obligation in the approval of the ways and means by the National Assembly and advances to the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the upper legislative chamber convened the emergency session barely 48hrs before the presidential inauguration of the “President-elect”, Bola Tinubu.

Channels TV reports that this is the second time in the 9th Senate that an emergency session is convened. The first was during the COVID-19 pandemic to approve funds to address the pandemic.