Buhari seeks N819.5bn supplementary Budget 10 days to end of 2022

…Request letter read at Senate plenary 10 days before year 2022 runs out

…Supplementary budget to be funded by additional domestic borrowing

…President says fund to address critical infrastructures affected by flood

…Senate invites Ministry of Finance, Agriculture, CBN, others for explanation

Barely 10 days to end of the year, President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate, seeking the approval of a total sum of N819.5 billion supplementary budget for the 2022 fiscal year.

The sum, according to the President, is to address critical infrastructures, particularly those affected by flood across States of the Federation.

The letter of President Buhari’s supplementary budget proposal was read on Wednesday by the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan.

According to the letter, the money for the supplementary budget would be sourced through additional domestic borrowings.

The content of the letter explained the requested sum is meant for the capital expenditure component of the 2022 budget with an attendant increase of deficit to N8.17trillion.

The intended projects bother around water supply, dam projects and irrigation projects nationwide, particularly those affected by flood incidents.

With the urgency of the matter, the President of the Senate hurriedly forwarded it to the Senate Committees on Appropriations, Finance, Works, Water Resources and Agriculture for expeditious consideration.

Lawan said that the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Water Resources and Agriculture must appear before the Senate Committees to enable them to get details about the Supplementary Budget.

President Buhari added that the proposed N819.5 billion supplementary budget will be financed by additional domestic borrowings.

The letter read, “The year 2022 has witnessed the worst flood incident in recent history which has caused massive destruction of farmlands at a point already closed to harvest season.

“This may compound the situation of food security and nutrition in the country. The flood has also devastated road infrastructure in across the 36 States and the FCT as well as bridges nationwide that are critical for the movement of goods and services.

“The water sector was equally affected by the flood and there is a need to complete some ongoing critical projects that have already achieved about 85 per cent completion.

“The nine critical projects proposed in the sector cut across water supply, dam projects and irrigation projects nationwide.

“I have approved a supplementary budget of 2022 appropriation of N819.536 billion, all of which are capital expenditures.

“The supplementary will be financed through additional domestic borrowings which will raise the budget  deficit for 2022 to N8.17 .trillion and deficit to GDP ratio to 4.43 per cent.”