Why President Buhari’s 2022 Budget Speech Was Shorter Than Usual

By Ayodele Oni

President Muhammadu Buhari, while presenting the 2022  budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday spent less than 45 minutes. This was unlike previous ones when the joint session would  hold sway for not less than one hour.

The President, while presenting the budget of N16.39 trillion  proposal for the Federal Government in 2022, explained that the proposed expenditure comprises: Statutory Transfers  N768.28 billion; Non-debt Recurrent Costs of N6.83 trillion; Personnel Costs of N4.11 trillion ; Pensions, Gratuities and Retirees’ benefits N577.0 billion.

Others are Overheads of N792.39 billion;

Capital Expenditure of N5.35 trillion, including the capital component of Statutory Transfers and Debt Service of N3.61 trillion.

Gen Buhari pointed out: “Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, in normal times, I make use of this opportunity to provide an overview of global and domestic developments in the current year, a summary of our achievements, and our plans for the next fiscal year.

“However, these are exceptional times. The grim realities of COVID-19 and its lethal variants are still upon us. From President to Pauper, the virus does not discriminate.

“This is why our country still maintains its COVID -19 guidelines and protocols in place to protect its citizens and stop the spread of this disease.

“Over the past few days, we have consulted with the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 and the leadership of the National Assembly on how best to present the 2022 budget proposal keeping in mind the deep-rooted traditions in place and the guidelines for safe mass gatherings.

“We ultimately decided that the most responsible and respectful approach was to hold a shorter than usual gathering, while allowing the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to provide fuller details of our proposals in a smaller event.

“I am sure many of you will be relieved as my last budget speech in October 2020 lasted over fifty minutes.”