Buhari Signs 2020 Budget Today

Eleven days after the National Assembly passed the N10.594 trillion 2020 budget, President Muhammadu Buhari would today sign the 2020 Appropriation Bill into law.

The N10.59 trillion budget, which would be signed by the president at 3.30p.m., is N264 billion higher than the N10.33 trillion estimates presented by the president in October.

It is made up of N4.84 trillion allocation for recurrent expenditure, N2.46 trillion for capital expenditure, N2.72 trillion for debt servicing, fiscal deficit of N2.28 trillion and deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of 1.52 per cent.

In the budget, the Ministry of Defence got the highest vote of N784.588 billion for recurrent expenditure and N116.181 billion for capital expenditure, while the Ministry of Education got N490.303 for recurrent expenditure N490.303 billion and N84.728 billion for capital expenditure.

Furthermore, Works and Housing Ministry got the highest capital expenditure allocation of N315.563 billion and N27.983 billion for its recurrent expenditure.

The budget was predicated on a crude oil production volume of 2.18 million barrel per day, oil benchmark of $57 and N305/$ exchange rate.

Other components of the Appropriation Bill include the GDP growth rate projection of 2.93 per cent and inflation rate of 10.81 per cent and statutory transfer of N556.7 billion.

Also yesterday, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, met with the president behind closed doors for a briefing on the state of the economy.

However, after the meeting, the CBN governor did not brief reporters on his discussion with the president.