Governor El-Rufai Presents Budget of N370.33bn for 2023

A draft budget of “continuous growth and development” to the tune of N370.33 billion has been presented to the Kaduna State House of Assembly by the Governor, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai.

Presenting the budget, the Governor explained that, it is expected that by 2023, crude oil pricing will stabilise around 70 dollars per barrel, and official exchange rates would be around N435.57 per dollar.

He said, considering the economic parameters, the budget is based on making provisions for funding of ongoing vital infrastructural projects, maintaining the minimum budgeting base line of 60 percent for capital expenditure and 40 percent for recurrent.

“The 2023 draft Budget was prepared on the expectation that the base effects would decline as economic activities normalize in the non-oil sector, meaning that the economy will grow at a much faster pace during the year in view.”

According to the governor, the proposed 370.33 billion budget of the 2023 has increased with 21.82 percent over the 22 percent reversed appropriation of N303.99 billion, while the sum of over N242 billion was proposed as capital expenditure and the sum of N127 billion represent the recurrent expenditure in 2023 estimate.

On the performance of the previous year’s budget, El-Rufai mentioned that the 2021 budget performance was at 97 percent, which according to him is the highest ever in the history of the state and Nigeria at large.

However, he said that the 2020 budget was at 73 percent in performance due to the Covid-19 pandemic before recovering to 97 percent in 2021.

The Governor assured Kaduna citizens that, as his administration winds down in a few months, all the ongoing projects would be completed.

In his response, the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Honourable Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani promised that the budget will be studied thoroughly and that correction will be made where necessary.