A budget proposal of ₦16.39 trillion tagged “Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability” for year 2022 was presented to the National assembly earlier today by Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari.
President Buhari, during the presentation said the budget will focus on diversifying the economy with robust MSME growth; investing in critical infrastructure; strengthening security; ensuring good governance; enabling a vibrant, educated and healthy populace; reducing poverty; and minimizing regional economic and social disparities.
An oil benchmark of $57 per barrel was fixed for the 2022 appropriation budget, the exchange rate is benchmarked at ₦410.5 while oil production is fixed at 1.88m barrels per day, including condensates.
The budget is projected to stimulate GDP growth by 4.2 per cent with inflation rate at 13 percent.
President Buhari also noted that the 2022 budget marks the first time in Nigeria’s history when MDAs are advised on gender responsive budgeting and this is part of the critical steps by the government to ensure fair distribution of resources and reach vulnerable groups in the society.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, revealed that the federal government plans to increase borrowings to finance anticipated deficits in the 2022 Budget which is estimated at ₦6.23trillion. The Minister disclosed further that despite widespread concerns, the nation’s borrowings are still within acceptable limits.
