President Muhammadu Buhari is at the national assembly to present the N19.76tn 2023 appropriation bill — his last as president.
Buhari has made it a tradition to personally present appropriation bills to the national assembly over the years — a departure from the previous administration where the minister of finance presents the bill to the legislature.
The president entered the chamber a few minutes past 10am alongside his aides.
Buhari said Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022, and that his administration will continue to work to better the economy.
He also said there was a need to end petrol subsidy, noting that it is not sustainable.
The president said the sum of N470 billion has been set aside for university revitalisation in the budget.
Funding for the revitalisation of public universities is one the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has been on strike since February 14.
But the president added that ASUU must seek source of sustainable funding instead always depending on federal government’s appropriation.
