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Tag: 2016 Budget

Buhari, Masari, Nnamani meet over 2016 Budget

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met behind closed door with former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bello Masari, as part of efforts to resolve the 2016 Budget crisis.

Many grey areas in the 2016 Budget had prevented Buhari from signing the appropriation bill into law.

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Senator Ken Nnamani said what he suggested to President Buhari is to find a good way out of the Budget impasse.

The former Senate president said that he believed that what he suggested is being studied by the President.

He said: “The issue on budget, well budget is an area where we practice what we call co-management between the National Assembly and the executive branch of government. Both of them co-manage the economy through the budget. Both of them will have to cooperate and collaborate for a proper budget to be passed and once it is passed, it becomes law.

“So as it stands today the situation is such that the National Assembly has to do what is called introspection, that how did we get to where we are now? The year is running out and we are still talking about 2016 budget, where is the fault from?

“Wherever it is coming from, both the executive branch and the legislature must find a quick solution to it. It does nobody good to drag it any longer, remember it is an area of co-management. It is not left to the executive alone, it is not left to the National Assembly alone, there has to be collaboration.

“I think he stands to reason, what I suggested is being studied. I think it is appropriate.”

April 25, 2016
Ndume assures on 2016 budget

Senate Leader, Alhaji Muhammad Ndume, on Monday assured that the impasse between the presidency and the National Assembly on the 2016 budget would soon be resolved.

Ndume, representing Borno South, told newsmen in Maiduguri that the resolution was to allow the country to move forward.

He said that the National Assembly was not in conflict with President Muhammadu Buhari on the budget.

“Nigerians should know that the National Assembly does not have any conflict with the president on the budget, but we might have minor disagreement.

“The major challenge that the National Assembly has is not disagreement with the president.

“The challenge that we have is how to do what the president is asking us to do within the law,’’ Ndume said.

According to him, disagreement between legislative and executive arms of government is normal in a democratic system.

“Disagreement between the legislature and executive is normal. The executive prepare the budget and present it to the legislature for processing and the legislature sends it back for assent after processing.

“Usually, the president takes a look at it and if he is comfortable with it, he signs and if he not comfortable, he takes note of the areas and sends it to the legislature for ratification.

“This is where we are now, but the unfortunate thing is that because of the change in government, the attitudes of Nigerians have also changed, which is normal.

“Nigerians are so anxious because Buhari is a new president they are expecting so much from; they are expecting to see changes quickly,’’ Ndume said.

The Senate Leader recalled that the National Assembly had similar disagreement with past presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan on budgets during their tenure.

He said that the leadership of the National Assembly would hold a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari this week in Abuja towards ending the impasse.

“The leadership of the National Assembly will sit down and talk to the president on the issue this week,” Ndume said.

He said that the meeting was earlier slated for last week but was shifted due to some unforeseen circumstances.

“We were supposed to have met last week, but we shifted the meeting to this week due to some factors,’’ Ndume said.

April 25, 2016
2016 budget will bring relief to Nigerians – Onu

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonaya Onu yesterday restated the commitment of the All Progressives Congress government (APC) led federal government to implementing it’s various campaign promises. The minister said passage of the 2016 budget would bring relief to Nigerians.

Onu, who spoke at the distribution of empowerment items to 200 women and youths in Kaduna, said President Muhammadu Buhari was still implementing the 2015 budget approved by past administration. The minister attributed non-passage of the 2016 budget to challenges Nigerians currently face.

However, he disclosed that the people would soon witness genuine change as soon as the 2016 budget is passed for implementation. Onu assured Nigerians that the president will keep all his promises just like he was doing in the fight against insurgency in the north east.

He said: “The president has brought stability to the north east and you no longer hear of insurgents over running towns and villages.

“Also, the issue of job creation, even though Nigerians must recognise that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been operating the 2015 budget. And this budget was put in place by the past administration.

“This administration has not started implementing even its first budget. The 2016 budget yet to be signed is the first budget of this administration.

“So I tell people that the change that Nigerians are looking for cannot come when we are operating 2015 budget. It is when we start operating our own budget, only prepared by us in line with our promises to Nigerians in fullfilments of our dreams and vision for our nation that that change will come. And we are assuring Nigerians that that change will come.”

April 24, 2016
No date yet for 2016 Budget signing – Udoma

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, on Wednesday said there is no date yet in sight for President Muhammadu Buhari to assent the 2016 Budget.

According to him, talks on the grey areas in the budget are still in progress.

He spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

He said: “On the 2016 Budget, we are still talking.

“On the expectation that we will soon have a budget, the monitoring and evaluation mechanism are designed to make sure that the budget delivers what it promises. That mechanism was looked at by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and approved.”

To ensure that the 2017 budget is done on time, the minister disclosed that a timetable was approved for the 2017 budget by FEC.

The purpose, he said, was to get the 2017 Budget on time to the National Assembly and ensure its passage this year.

He also said that the Council noted the report of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group which in partnership with the National Planning Commission (NPC) organised an economic summit last year and made various recommendations.

On his part, the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu said that no negotiation has been reached yet with MTN on the fine imposed on the telecommunications firm.

He disclosed that one of the memos which also came before FEC was the one requiring approval of the final Acts and instruments amending the International Telecoms Radio Regulations.

April 20, 2016
2016 budget: Praise for Buhari for withholding assent

Patron of Buhari Youth Organisation (BYO), Ambassador Nurain Mumuni, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s thoroughness, commitment and transparent approach to the 2016 budget.

Mumuni, a former governorship candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Lagos State, noted that the president’s insistence to only assent to a budget devoid of “errors” and “padding,” is a clear testimony that the country is gradually returning to the path of sanity and incorruptibility.

He said: “Buhari’s approach to the 2016 budget is a clear departure from the past.

“The President has the same right of due diligence as exercised by the National Assembly members to unearth all the discrepancies in the budget.

“No one should stampede him into consenting to a budget that he has not studied.

“It is within his powers to withhold assent if that will achieve an ideal and realistic budget for the nation.”

April 17, 2016
We will reexamine the budget – Dogara

The House of Representatives has resolved to review the controversial 2016 budget.

This is contrary to the position of the Senate on Tuesday that foreclosed a revisit of the document.

The decision was announced by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara after a two hour executive session where various opinions were said to have been raised.

Dogara said the decision of the House was necessitated by the prevailing economic situation facing the country.

“In view of the prevailing economic situation and in the interest of our people, we have resolved to reexamine the budget with a view of ironing out any differences with the executive.

“This is for the overall interest of the country in order to have a workable budget that is implementable.”

April 13, 2016
DMO: Fed Govt to borrow N1.84tr to fund 2016 budget

The Federal Government is set to borrow N1.84 trillion from external and domestic markets to finance the 2016 budget, the Director-General, Debt Management Office, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo has said.

According to him, the government will borrow N900billion and N984 billion from the external and domestic markets to fund the budget.

Speaking during a workshop on Debt sustainability and the challenge of financing economic recovery by the DMO for the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abuja, at the weekend, Nwankwo said the challenge of infrastructural development and economic recovery are enormous; therefore, the imperative of the government to seek for alternative funding of which debt sourcing was an integral part.

He urged the media to key into the government’s debt management policy.

The DMO chief observed that the media has a critical role in informing Nigerians of the importance of debt financing in economic development especially with declining oil and gas revenue being faced by the country and around the globe.

He said Nigeria’s debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio as at December last year was at 13.02 per cent, which he said was far below the peer group ratio of 56 per cent.

Explaining further, Nwankwo said the logic of the mix— external and domestic borrowings, is “to rebalance total public stock in favour of less costly external funds,” while stressing that “the utilisation of the borrowing proceeds are entirely on capital projects to support the growth of productive capacity.”

He said to address the huge infrastructural deficit in the country effectively, the funding implications for Nigeria is about $25 billion per annum over the next five to seven years.

The worry in the funding of such huge infrastructural challenge, the DMO said, lies in private sector equity and debt, which he explained is uncertain as well as public sector revenue and debt which has been adversely affected by declining oil revenue.

To address the imbalance, he said: “The imperative is to depend on well structured, substantial, affordable, long-term external debt financing to fund the desired long-term economic change.”

Nwankwo urged the leadership of the NUJ to engage its members to explain the desirability of public debt financing to Nigerians.

NUJ President, Mr. Waheed Odusile, commended the DMO for the workshop, which he described as timely and educating, urging the office to expand its enlightenment to other critical stakeholders.

Odusile promised that the union would continue to engage with the DMO in order to help pass on the appropriate information on the activities of the office and the importance of debt financing for the country’s development needs.

April 11, 2016
Ministers begin scrutiny of 2016 Budget

In order to look critically at the 2016 Appropriation bill recently passed by the National Assembly, Ministers and Permanent Secretaries on Friday began ministry by ministry scrutiny of the budget.

President Muhammadu Buhari had last week insisted that the 2016 budget details will be scrutinized before he assents to it.

The Presidency got the details of the budget on Thursday.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo chaired the meeting scrutinizing the details of the budget at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

Speaking with State House correspondents during short break of the meeting, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said: “We have received the details of the 2016 budget from the National Assembly and an extra-ordinary Federal Executive Council meeting was called this morning to avail every minister to look at the details of the budget and see how it affects each of the ministries.

“And also at this point, it is still work in progress we have broken up to resume later in the afternoon.

“We will come out with a statement later,” he added.

April 8, 2016
NASS set to transmit 2016 budget details to President

Succour might soon come to Nigerians as the details of the 2016 budget is set to be transmitted to the President to facilitate his assent to the appropriation bill.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said he would not sign the appropriation bill unless the details of the budget are attached.

Buhari has promised to go through the details” line by line” as soon as he receives it.

The Chairman of the House committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmunin Jibrin Wednesday conveyed the details of the N6.06 trillion budget to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa at precisely 4:54pm.

The budget has been plagued with controversy from the time it was submitted to the National Assembly.

It was however passed on March 23 after an almost three months delay yet lack of details further elongated the delay.

The details are expected to be picked from the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly by both Special Advisers to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang and his House of Representatives counterpart, Abdulrahman Ismaila Kawu.

Jibrin’s counterpart from the Senate, Danjuma Goje was conspicuously absent. He was however said to have been sighted at the Code of Conduct Tribunal where the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki is undergoing trial for false declaration of assets.

Jibrin while speaking with reporters as he left the CNA’s office said: “Yes we have just submitted the details of the 2016 appropriation bill to the Clerk of the National Assembly for onward transmission to the executive arm of government.”

On it there were surprises in the details, he said: “Well I don’t know what you mean by surprises. Of course you know the challenges that the budget came with, again we have gone through that over and over.

“But even with that, we were able to put all our hands on the table and we have been able to do a lot of cleaning up exercise and working 15,16,17 hours every day and yes we have done the very best we can.

“But we continue to plead with Nigerians for their understanding. We do know what is going on, we share their pains. And we are also living in this country. We just want Nigerians to understand that this year, it’s a different budget. We have not had such a challenging budget before.”

The lawmaker said like every other years the National Assembly has made its own inputs into the budget.

“Of course you know we have worked on the details and when I was coming in, I tried to answer some questions whether there were inputs? Of course, there were inputs of lawmakers on the details.

“You are faced with what the executive arm of government want or what the lawmakers want but the case of the appropriation committee is to find a middle ground between both.

“But I think the budget we just signed off with my colleague in the Senate, to the best of our knowledge, is an implementable budget and to a large extent, we believe that it properly aligns with the policy thrust of the government.”

On what was the next line of action, he said: “Of course, we have done our own part, the budget will be transmitted to the president and so we keep our fingers crossed.

“The presidential advisers of the National Assembly will come over to pick the details, I have called both of them and there are aware that the details are ready.”

April 6, 2016
F.G charged to commence building of maritime varsity

Following the passage of the 2016 Budget by the National Assembly, the Federal Government has been charged to commence in earnest the construction of the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Delta State.

A Niger Delta based Non-Governmental Organization, Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), which gave the charge, said the recommendation to continue the specialized institution was made in bad faith.

This is contained in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Sheriff Mulade and made available to newsmen in Warri, the commercial hub of Delta State.

“We believe that scrapping the maritime university is not a good idea. These are people who have been suffering from untold hardship due to oil exploration and exploitative activities.

“This is an area hosting a lot of oil and gas facilities including the Escravos Gas to Liquid Project, and yet the Minister had the temerity to say that no parent will allow his or her child to attend the university,” the statement said.

CEPEJ advised the Federal Government to do the needful by retracing its steps and resuming work on the university site, maintaining that the suggestion that only feasibility study was done on the institution was indicative that the Minister was out of touch with reality.

The NGO urged the Federal Government to send an independent body to visit the institution for on the spot assessment of the extent of work done and not rely on imaginary reports and fifth columnist to form its judgment and policy implementation.

The Center reiterated that the institution would not reinvigorate economic activities in the coastal community but would go a long way to engage the youth positively thus reducing youth restiveness and militancy as according to it, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

April 4, 2016