The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved plans presented by Minister of Budget and Planning Udoma Udo-Udoma on Wednesday.
The N7.3 trillion estimate is 20 per cent higher than the N6.1 trillion 2016 budget.
The increased spending proposal signals the government’s determination to stimulate the recession-hit economy, which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said would contract by 1.7 per cent at the end of this year.
In spite of the assurances by Senate President Bukola Saraki after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday that the budget would be promptly passed, Manji Cheto, senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence said “Nigerian lawmakers typically take up to four months to deliberate on budgets, even after granting their approval” to the three-year economic framework, which forms the foundation of every budget.
Saraki said unlike this year’s budget which was accompanied by a lot of acrimony, the 2017 budget would be passed quickly.
He said the President was expected to lay the proposal before the joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives for consideration “within the next 10 days”.
He told State House reporters that the National Assembly “is ready to receive the President as soon as communication is received from the Executive”.
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