Nigerian Senate receives revised 2020 budget, scales second reading
- Senate has received the revised 2020 budget of N10.52 trillion after putting its holiday on hold
- The Senate president Ahmed Lawan read a letter from the president informing the upper house of the revised budget
- The upper legislative chamber passed the appropriation bill for second reading
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The Nigerian Senate has received the revised 2020 budget of N10.52 trillion after it was slashed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Legit.ng gathered that the president of the Senate Ahmad Lawan read a letter on the floor of the upper chamber on Thursday, May 28, from President Buhari informing the lawmakers of the revised budget.
The appropriation bill scaled the floor of the red chamber for second reading. Back in December 2019, the Nigerian leader had assented to the budget for 2020 before the outbreak and the spread of COVID-19 had a negative effect on the world's economy.
Senator Aliyu Sabi who supported the revised Bill, said the changes are necessary because we are experiencing a difficult time. The lawmaker went on to add that the efforts put into the budget are modest and requires the support of all.
In line with the Covid-19 pandemic, Senator Adamu Aliero explained that the revised budget is a realistic amendment and reflects the realities that the country is facing.
Following the crash of crude oil prices in the global market due to coronavirus pandemic, the federal government of Nigeria was forced to slash the 2020 budget by N312 billion.
The 2020 budget has now been cut from the initial N10,594,362,364,80 to N10,276, 887,197,728. However, this decision by the executive arm of the federal government is subject to the approval of the legislature.
The proposal by President Buhari seeks to cut in the oil benchmark from $57 per barrel to $30 per barrel and reduce the daily production of oil from 2.8 million per barrel to 1.70 million.
It would be recalled that the National Assembly (NASS), the legislative arm of the country put its holiday on hold in order to reconvene and consider the 2020 revised budget.
The development was contained in a memo dated Tuesday, May 26, addressed to members of the two chambers by Mohammed Sani-Omolori, the NASS clerk.
The 2020 appropriation bill had successfully scaled through the legislative hurdle but an outbreak of coronavirus necessitated the move to review the budget as the country faces the economic reality of the scourge.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that as the reality of coronavirus beckons, the federal government on Thursday, April 2, took a giant stride by slashing the NASS budget by N25.6 billion.
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the economy partially deadened with government across levels resulting in reconsideration of the fiscal policy.
President Buhari gave directives for "review of 2020 budget to reflect realities in oil sector and prioritizing health sector infrastructure."
The president gave the order after the second meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) in Abuja.
In other news, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed said the federal government concluded plans to effect a downward review of oil benchmark to $20 per barrel.
Zainab made this known during an online conference. She added that this is a drop from the earlier benchmark $57 per barrel. She said: “We are in the process of an amendment that is bringing down the revenue indicator to $20 per barrel.”
The minister also announced that the government is planning to cut oil production to 1.7 million barrels per day (mbpd), against the 2.1 mbpd contained in the 2020 budget.
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Source: Legit.ng
