Some North-West economic experts say the sectoral allocation of the 2023 budget has raised the hope of Nigerians regarding key areas that needed urgent attention.
The experts, however, pointed out that such hope would only turn into reality if the amount proposed was realised, and components of the budget implemented ‘religiously’ without any deviation.
An Economist with Kaduna State University, KASU Peter Adamu, described the budget as a document containing revenue and expenditure. He noted that the wishes will only come true if the revenue projected is actually generated, released and judiciously used for the purpose contained in the budget document.
On his part, a Professor of Economic History, at KASU, Terhemba Wuam, also explained that the extent of implementation of the budget would depend solely on the availability of revenue.
He stressed that the health sector also recorded some improvement in terms of allocation, from the over 540 billion naira allocated in 2021, to about 800 billion naira in 2022, and doubled to about 1.7 trillion naira in 2023.
In his contribution, Aliyu Salis, lecturer at the Department of Economics, Bayero University Kano, canvassed for additional funding for the Small and Medium Enterprises sector.
