President Bola Tinubu has approved the extension of the 2023 supplementary budget until March 2024.
House of Representatives Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, confirmed the decision at the Presidential Villa, mentioning Tinubu’s prior approval of the N28.7 trillion 2024 appropriation bill.
Abbas detailed the 90-day extension of the supplementary budget to align with the 2024 capital component until March 31.
“The President signed two other bills. The first one is the supplementary appropriation bill of 2023, which he has agreed to extend by 90 days,” Abbas said.
“So, it will continue to work concurrently with the 2024 budget up to March 31. He has also approved the 2023 main budget to concurrently operate with the capital component of the 2024 budget up to March 31, 2024.”
In November, the President enacted the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget.
Ahead of its approval, certain items stirred controversy, notably the N4 billion allocation for renovating the President’s Abuja residence and the N2.5 billion for the vice president’s quarters in Abuja.
Furthermore, President Tinubu sanctioned the securitization of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means debt balance.
“Another landmark achievement we had was also approving the securitization of the Ways and Means that have effectively brought to an end these controversial means and ways of borrowing money,” he added.
“He has assured Nigerians that this will be the last of this kind of ugly incident.”
Ways and Means typically refer to the methods or resources the Federal Government employs through the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage its finances or cover short-term budget deficits.
In the context of fiscal policy, it often involves strategies or financial mechanisms utilised by a government or its central bank to raise funds, especially when there’s a shortfall between revenue and expenses.
For example, it might involve borrowing from the central bank, issuing bonds, or other short-term financing measures to meet immediate financial obligations.
Conversely, securitization involves consolidating diverse debt instruments and selling them as bonds to investors.
The National Assembly sanctioned the president’s plea for securitizing the remaining N7.3 trillion in ways and means of debt balance on December 30.