The 2020 budget has moved to the second reading in the House of Representatives.
The House had commenced debate on the general principles of the appropriations act on Wednesday, a day after it was presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Buhari had on Tuesday presented a spending plan of N10.3 trillion to the National Assembly, making next year’s proposed budget the country’s highest ever.
The proposal shows that about a quarter of the sum (N2.5 trillion) will be used for debt servicing, while capital expenditure is expected to gulp N2.1 trillion which excludes the capital component of statutory transfers.
A further breakdown presented by the president shows the expenditure estimate includes statutory transfers of N556.7 billion, non-debt recurrent expenditure of N4.8 trillion and provision for Sinking Fund to retire maturing bonds issued to local contractors is N296 billion.
The budget was prepared on the assumption of $57 per barrel with crude oil production of 2.18 million barrels per day and the exchange rate assumed at N305 to $1.
Other assumptions include real GDP growth of 2.93 per cent while “inflation is expected to remain slightly above single digits in 2020.”
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