Ahead of the 2023 budget presentation, the Federal Government, yesterday, insisted that petroleum subsidy would remain in place until mid-2023. In addition, the government will borrow over N11 trillion and sell national assets to finance the budget deficit next year.?
?The Minister added that the Federal Government is proposing an aggregate expenditure of N19.76 trillion for the 2023 financial year, a 15.37 percent increase from the amount earmarked in the 2022 budget, with a projected deficit of N11.30 trillion, 54 percent higher than the previous budget’s estimated deficit.?
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This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance in Abuja, to defend the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).?
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She also said the government’s budget deficit is expected to exceed N12.42 trillion if it should keep the petroleum subsidy for the entire 2023 fiscal cycle. According to the Minister, the government is proposing to spend only N3.36 trillion for petrol subsidy in 2023 based on the 18-month extension announced in early 2022.?
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Recall that last week, the Minister disclosed that the government was spending N18.39 billion daily on PMS.?
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Zainab said the Federal Government was projecting total revenue of N8.46 trillion, out of which N1.9 trillion is expected to come from oil-related sources while the remaining is to come from non-oil sources.?
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Source: Guardian