The Nigerian Senate said it would address the 2023 budget deficit of N11.03 trillion through the amendment of the relevant provisions of the Finance Act.
This was made known by the Senate Committee on General Services, Senator Sani Musa, stressing that they will dwell on areas of making the various revenue generating agencies to triple their targets as will be handed over to them by the parliaments.
Sani spoke after the Senate ‘makeshift’ Chambers was inspected by the Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, ahead of Tuesday’s resumption of lawmakers in the upper and lower legislative Chambers.
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present the 2023 annual budget which was pegged at N19.76 trillion with a total of N11.03 trillion deficit which the lawmakers are looking for ways to abridge.
He said: “The budget of this country has been in deficit, and the only thing we can do is to amend so many things in the Finance Act, so that we can be able to generate more revenues from other sources rather than depending on oil alone and by extension, reduce the size of the proposed budget deficit.
“By now, the temporary chambers should have been ready, knowing that we are resuming. Initially, we are supposed to resume on the 20th of this month, but there are some little things that needed to be done before then.
“You will recall that the 9th Senate has done very well, because this edifice, since it was built, has never been rehabilitated. We are refurbishing it, bringing it back to standard like any other parliament you see around the world.
“The FCT that is doing this Job, have been up and doing, but we need to push, they need to do more so that we will be able to resume as quickly as possible”.
On the renovation of the NASS complex, the lawmaker said, it has been overdue, particularly the Chambers of the houses, which he believed would be comparable with others around the world after the renovation.
“It is a great achievement for us that we are renovating the National Assembly complex that has been built over 20 years.
“What we read from the newspapers that NASS leadership has not done anything on the leaking roof, is not true.
“I’m sure that by the time the renovation of the National Assembly chambers is completed, other African countries will come to see and make Nigeria as a case study and see how we have improved on parliamentary infrastructure,” he added.
