Petroleum Industry Act Adjustments Raise 2022 Budget To N16.4trn

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has raised the 2022 appropriation bill by N2.47 trillion, bringing the total budget for the fiscal year to N16.45 trillion. This was contained in a revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) sent by the President to the National Assembly yesterday.

In July, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved N13.98 trillion for the proposed 2022 budget sum.

In the letter read by Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Buhari explained that the needed adjustments were important to reflect “the new fiscal terms in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“The PIA establishes a progressive fiscal framework aimed at encouraging investment in the Nigerian petroleum industry. This significantly alters the oil and gas fiscal terms and has necessitated changes in the 2022-2024 Medium Term Fiscal Framework,” he said.

Ahead of the presentation of the 2022 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly tomorrow, the President added that the increase in total sum for the 2022 fiscal year was also because N100 billion has been voted for the conduct of the 2023 general elections, among other necessities, while he projected a decline in net oil and gas revenue by N5.42 billion.

Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector have, however, raised fresh concerns over the planned implementation of the recently passed PIA, insisting recent developments may erode projected optimism in the legislation.

Coming amid allegations that ‘Buhari men’ were already hijacking the implementation, turning a serious economic issue to politics and regional affairs, the concerns were more in the areas of appointments into key positions, gender gaps and growing threats to the survival of the new NNPC Limited.