Nigeria’s annual budgets will henceforth be accompanied by Finance Bills to help government hit revenue targets and smoothen implementation of spending plan, Zaniab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said Wednesday.
The pledge by Ahmed follows President Buhari’s signing into law on Monday, of the 2019 Finance Bill, marking the first time, since 1999, that a Federal Budget is being accompanied by passage of a Finance Bill specially designed to support its implementation, and the private sector, the presidency said.
“We planned that from now on, the annual budget will always be accompanied by finance bills to enable the realisation of revenue projections; this supports a stronger implementation process,” Ahmed said in a tweet Wednesday.
Read also: Updated: Finance Bill 2019 relieves insurers of unfair tax burden
The minister said future bills will also provide the government with additional opportunities to incrementally improve the fiscal policy and regulatory/legal environment in order to further strengthen Nigeria’s domestic capital market, and ultimately ensure sustained and inclusive growth and development.
