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Tag: budget

  • Reps reject N6b Communications ministry’s budget

    The House of Representatives Committee on Communications has rejected the N6.97billion  budget of  the Ministry of Communications for failing to provide satisfactory details of its 2016 budget spendings.

    For capital projects, the Ministry is proposing to spend N5.964billion, N742.880million  for personnel while N216, 880 million was proposed for overhead cost.

    For emphasis, the Saheed Fijabi-led Committee asked the Minister, Adebayo Shittu to provide a number of documents on projects, project locations, third party contracts, receipt vouchers for conferences,  trainings as well as nominal roll for the Ministry among others.

    The Committee said it will not consider the 2017 budget estimates of the Ministry until it embarked on an on-the-spot accessment of the projects contained in the 2016 budget document.

    The budget session began on a tense note when the Minister refused to explain the details of the budget saying the Permanent Secretary, Sunday Echono, who is the Accounting Officer of the Ministry was in the best position to respond to the specifics of the 2016 document.

    In his presentation, the Minister said contrary to what was on record, the Ministry actually received N3,095,437billion as against N4,912,735, 231billion that was recorded for it on Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) platform for its 2016 capital expenditure.

    The breakdown showed that of the 48 new and one on-going projects, the Ministry recorded 100 per cent performance on capital budget release of N3,095,437billion that was fully accessed.

    For the year under review, N216, 791,496million was appropriated for overhead while N138,905,138million was released leaving a balance of N77.9million; N600,239,582million was also appropriated for personnel cost out of which N695, 877, 059 was released.

    Totally shocked about the finances of the Ministry, the lawmakers requested for explanations why money  released for personnel was greater than money appropriated.

    The Committee asked why N8million was spent on presentation at Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, while seeking  explanation on the procurement of computers for N12million.

    In addition, the Committee expreseed doubt over the  Ccapital expenditure item whereby N4. 9million was spent on  supervision of the an unspecified work.

    Construction of Information Communications Technology (ICT) centers in some parts of the country also came under scrutiny as the Ministry failed to execute any of the projects, claiming lack of funds.

    The Committee wondered why projects that benefit Nigerians directly were not prosecuted by the Ministry.

    Fijabi said: “With the document before us, there is a need for this Committee to oversight these projects because Nigerians have been  blaming the  legislature for not doing its job well.

    “Going forward, we have to look at the procurement process and on-the-spot accessment of these projects has become inevitanle.

    “In addition, the Ministry should furnish the Committee with its nominal roll, indicating old and new workers.

    “The provision of the details requested will determine how soon we will embark on the oversight visit and the consideration of the Ministry’s 2017 budget estimates.”

  • Fed Govt mulls using TSA to fund budget

    The Federal Government is planning to use a portion of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) balance to fund the national  budget, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, told reporters yesterday in Abuja.

    Speaking at the retreat on TSA, he said: “The policy has helped to reduce the amount of borrowed funds by government, there is need to have a mechanism that would allow the balances in TSA to be used in a profitable manner  for  budget execution. The implementation of the policy has been successful, there is need to harness the immense potentials of the initiative in budgeting and debt management.

    “This is one of the critical aspects of our reforms. Beyond mere cash management, there is need to look particularly in this time of recession to see how best we can deploy the large balances that we have been keeping with CBN (Central bank of Nigeria) for the betterment of the economy.”

    He said all the stakeholders will continue to talk and  would be advising government appropriately. “It is not something that we will do tomorrow; we have to sit on how we deploy them profitably into very efficient and very viable instruments. So all that needs to be worked out,” Idris said.

    He also said there is improvement on deployment of technology and modern applications to solve all the challenges that are being encountered.

    “Right now, we are talking with some programme developers, because we observed that for teaching hospitals and universities, there are endowment funds, there are third party funds and there are funds that are not meant as holding funds. We deploy technology to seep out those funds, separate (them) from normal conventional revenues,” he explained.

    Idris reiterated that his Office has stopped N4.7 billion in cost of keeping old ministies, department and agencies (MDAs) accounts which attracted large cost of borrowing through over drafts, and other charges monthly.

    As a result, the OAGF has “been able to track government revenue; we have been able to see revenue inflow and that has helped us to harness our revenue in that direction. We have been able to stop leakages because some of these over 20,000 accounts were not even known to some agencies that owned them, and TSA has brought about transparency in terms of delivery.”

    Reacting to concerns that the implementation of the TSA has forced many banks to sack workers, Idris said: “Banks are never created to hold public funds or government funds virtually for free. No! That is not banking. Nowhere in the world are banks relying on public funds to survive. So, banks are now becoming more innovative and that innovation is what will bring them back to business. I believe very soon, retrenchment in the sector will be a thing of the past and they will be looking for people to employ because they are now focused on doing what they are supposed to do.”

    Since the policy was fully implemented in September 2015, about N5.244 trillion has accrued to the account and everyday the account keeps swelling.

    The retreat was attended by stakeholders in the private and public sectors of the economy.

  • Senator appeals to FG, NASS to increase budgetary allocation to North-East

    Senator appeals to FG, NASS to increase budgetary allocation to North-East

    The former Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has appealed to the Federal Government to increase the N45 billion allocated in the 2017 budget for the reconstruction of the North-East region.

    Ndume, who made the appeal while briefing newsmen on Tuesday in Maiduguri, said the N45 billion was inadequate compared to the damage done in the region.

    He also appealed to the leadership of the National Assembly to look into the possibility of increasing the amount “in the interest of justice.’’

    “We are appealing to the Federal Government and the leadership of the National Assembly to jerk up the allocation to at least N125 billion.

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    “Our demand is based on the premise that the International Community under the Humanitarian Response Programme has budgeted N1.05 billion dollars for intervention in the area in 2017,” he said.

    Buhari BudgetNdume added: “Even that amount is meant for three states — Borno, Yobe and Adamawa targeting about 45 percent of the humanitarian crisis in the states.

    “It is expected that the federal government should at least try to match the international bodies in funding critical areas requiring urgent attention in the area.”

    Ndume recalled that in the 2016 budget, only N12 billion was allocated to the region.

    “What the Nigerian government allocated to the region in the 2016 budget was N12 billion and only 75 percent of the amount was eventually released,” he said.

    Ndume, a member of the Presidential Committee on the North-East, said that Nigeria received 449 billion dollars from donor countries and bodies compared to the N12 billion allocated to the region in the 2016 budget.

    “We got 449 million dollars which are about N130 billion from international donor organisations and countries last year.

    “I think the government should try and come up with a reasonable amount for the rebuilding of the North-East by jerking up the N45 billion which is grossly inadequate,” he said.

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  • ‘Legislature’s budget secrecy affecting assessment of 2016 appropriation’

    The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has blamed the inability of his office to determine the exact annual capital budget performance on the secrecy in the National Assembly’s budget.

    The AGF, who spoke at the 2017 budget defence of his office conducted by the Senate Committee on Finance, said it would be improper to say the actual budget performance of the Federal Government without the knowledge and disclosure of the National Assembly budget.

    Idris, however, gave the general performance of his office budget for 2016, taking into cognisance the three components of the appropriation, as 89.5 percent.

    He spoke while responding to the request of the committee that he provide it with the capital performance of national budget for 2016.

    The committee chairman, Senator John Owan Enoh, had said: “Let us take the liberty of over-sighting you and request that if you can, let us have the record of the total capital performance or delivery of the 2016 budget, not just of your office but all others.”

    The AGF said: “Distinguished senators, let me also say all these performances we are talking about, in terms of capital performance or delivery, it does not include capital component of statutory organisations.

    “Some of them, we don’t have their performances. For instance, I don’t have the capital performance of the National Assembly budget. But I know how much I release every month. So, it is the management that decides their capital. With this, it’s difficult to know the overall capital performance of national budget. “

    The committee demanded explanation for what it called “disproportionate release of funds to ministries, departments and agencies of government in the 2016 appropriation”.

    The committee also wanted to know why the 2016 budget performance of the Office of the Accountant-General stood at 72.2 per cent, while other agencies stood at between 60 and 70 per cent.

  • Budget 2017: Saraki seeks equitable distribution of projects

    Budget 2017: Saraki seeks equitable distribution of projects

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, yesterday urged Senate standing committees to ensure equitable distribution of projects in budget 2017.

    He spoke while committing the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the Appropriation Committee after a three-day debate of the general principles of the fiscal document.

    Saraki  noted that only equitable distribution of projects would assuage the feeling of those who felt that their zones were not adequately represented in the budget.

    He added that equitable distribution of resources would give a sense of belonging to all parts of the country.

    Senators of the Southeast geo-political zone had complained bitterly that their zone was not fairly treated in the allocation of resource in the budget.

    They noted that the zone got a paltry N14 billion worth of projects in a budget of N7.298 trillion.

    Saraki said: “While we are doing the exercise, the issues raised by our colleagues on the equitable distribution of projects should be considered.

    “I will like all our respective committees to take care of that to ensure a sense of belonging by all and I hope that on this area, we would ensure that we do our best in ensuring that this exercise is better than last year.”

  • Stakeholders meet over council’s budget 

    The Sole Administrator Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Mr. Rotimi Ogunwuyi has said the council will consolidate on the Lagos State Development Programme to make life better for the people.

    Addressing stakeholders at a meeting in preparation for the council’s 2017 budget, the council chief said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had set the template for others to follow, noting that Mosan Okunola council is in high spirit to replicate it in the council.

    He explained that the stakeholders’ meeting was organised to enable the people to make their contributions toward the attainment of a budget that will take care of their pressing needs rather than embarking on projects that are unnecessary and which will not impact on the lives of the people.

    Ogunwuyi added that projects such as roads, youths’ development, primary health care (PHC), education, commerce and sporting activities were in top agenda of government’s fiscal policy.

    The Sole Administrator maintained that his leadership had always strived to ensure that the people were carried along.

    “That is why the stakeholders’ meeting is very important. They will use the opportunity to let government know what their priorities are,” he said.

    He noted that the era when government imposes its decision on the people without wide consultation was over, adding that success could be made easier when the people participate in decision-making.

    “In the past, the practice was for government to impose its wishes on the people without recourse to them and without considering their needs.  This is out of tune with development and democracy.

    “The spirit and letter of the new budgeting system at the local empowerment level means make it mandatory for the ultimate beneficiaries of government programmes and projects to be part of the whole arrangement, right from the beginning.

    “It is the above scenario that has necessitated the consultation. It must also be made clear that within the ambit of the financial capacity of the council, we expect the gathering to come up with the items that will be used to fashion out the 2017 budget.”

    Ogunwuyi further appealed to Nigerians to support the council’s PHC programme, stressing that the facilities were over-stretched.

    “It is in the best interest of the council that I appeal to Nigerians to support our PHC programme. We need more nurses to complement the ones we have on ground and to relieve our members of staff that are being overworked,” he said.

    He presented gift materials to Mrs Ogada Daisy who gave birth to the first baby of the month at the Rauf Aregbesola Hospital.

  • Reps reject N305/dollar exchange rate for budget

    Reps reject N305/dollar exchange rate for budget

    The House of Representatives yesterday rejected the Federal Government’s exchange rate of N305/dollar in this year’s budget, saying it would engender huge corruption, with the almost N500/dollar at the parallel market.
    Members of the Green Chamber also queried the Executive on the domestic borrowing plan of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying it will stifle funds that could have been made available to the real sector and small businesses to grow the economy and move the country out of recession.
    Of the N2.321 trillion borrowing plan projected in the budget, N1.253 trillion is to be sourced from the domestic market.
    The lawmakers, who spoke during an interactive session with members of the Executive with the committees on  Finance,  Appropriation, Aid Loans & Debt Management, Legislative Budget and Research and National Planning & Economic Development on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) also said the government was not doing much to reign in inflation which presently stands at 18.55  percent.
    Members in the various committees at the meeting also accused the Federal Government of insufficient consultation with stakeholders, especially the National Assembly while developing the MTEF, adding that the parameters in the budget are different from that in the MTEF initially submitted to the National Assembly
    But the Minster of Budget & National Planning , Senator Udo Udoma, said the government has a multi-facetted plan to move the country out of recession.
    On inflation, he said: “ It is our objective to move towards a very low inflation environment  because we need to move to a low inflation environment so as to have sustained and sustainable growth.
    “We believe that, as the Central Bank had said, many of the things that were feeding into the inflation in 2016 is that once we can stabilise the exchange rate and other aspects of the economy, we will reduce the rate of inflation .
    “But we need to do a lot more than that. We need to reduce the cost of doing business and we have a number of plans to achieve that. We need to get Nigerians back to work. We need to  get single interest loans, particularly in the key areas, such as agriculture and all that, to get people back to work. Already the Central Bank is working on that.”
    Udoma said the government was doing a lot, which it believes will restructure the economy. According to him, the difficult and challenging phase the country is passing through is seen on the part of the executive as an opportunity “to change things in a fundamental way”.
    Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said the government had put a lot of measures in place to stimulate the economy. She said people should be careful about putting their faith in the black market as it drives inflation.
    “There is a number of structural initiative to close the gap. We have to look at why are people buying dollars at such high amounts. It’s driven by irrational and emotional factors.”
    Adeosun said the Fundamentals show that the naira should be strengthening presently. “The black market will collapse because it’s not being driven by any fundamentals,” she said.
    On Treasury Single Account (TSA), the minister said it was counter productive to put the government’s money in commercial banks only for them to loan it back to the government at higher rates.
    Mrs. Adeosun said the government was spending more on infrastructure. “We’re targeted on spending on what will bring us out of the recession,” she said.
    At the session were the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mines and Solid Minerals Development, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation   (NNPC), Nigerian Customs Service.
    Others were Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Debt Management Office, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),  and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

  • Public trust necessary for success of 2017 budget, says Randle

    The Federal government’s 2017 budget requires political tailwind if it is to fly, says renowned accountant and public commentator, Bashorun J.K. Randle.

    Bashorun Randle in a statement said that the most essential ingredient of the tailwind is public trust.

    According to the former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), “there is need for co-operation and understanding between President Muhammadu Buhari; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.”

    He said that over the last two or three decades, Nigeria has veered away from the ideal of 60:40, whereby sixty percent of our revenue would be consumed by recurrent expenditure leaving a healthy balance of forty percent for capital expenditure.

    He added that financial analysts who have been tracking Nigeria’s budget and debts for several decades cannot but recall that the current insurgency (Boko Haram) which has engulfed the North-East region of our nation probably owes its genesis to what was inflicted on that area in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

    Recalling the poor level of local manufacturing industries in some parts of the country, Randle highlighted that, “When we had only six states (which later became 12 states under General Yakubu Gowon), that part of the country was clearly devastated by arid desert, poverty and lack of industries. Even the few industries they had were ravaged by the Structural Adjustment Programmme (SAP) under the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida. Some of the early casualties were the tannery and shoe factories in Maiduguri.”

    He noted that when the budget and debt management derail, the consequences are nearly always stupefying- resulting in riots; currency collapse; bank crisis; and sometimes regime change.

    However, he cautioned that the tag of the 2017 budget as “budget of recovery and growth” should avoid delay as it could drag on for many months before it is signed into law.

    “Unless there is a drastic improvement in the government’s capacity to deliver on its promises and put an end to “project formulation delays,” there is no hope that the 2017 budget will galvanise the economy out of recession.

    “That is the main reason we must take all the promises contained in the 2017 budget with cautious optimism,” he said.

  • Will budget 2017 stimulate real sector?

    Will budget 2017 stimulate real sector?

    The stage appears set for real sector’s rebound. With N20 billion for reviving the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) in the N7.3 trillion 2017 budget proposal and plans to resume payment of accumulated Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) estimated at over N300 billion as well as increased focus on infrastructure development, the sector looks good to rescue the economy from recession. However, some operators are cautiously optimistic, fearing that shoddy implementation and the government’s silence on the controversial foreign exchange policy may throw a spanner in the works, CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    President Muhammadu Buhari came across as an incurable optimist when he presented the 2017 budget proposal of N7.3 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 14, last year. Despite the growing anxiety, particularly among real sector operators over the direction of the recession-battered economy, he spoke glowingly of his administration’s commitment to “make Nigeria a new manufacturing hub.”

    Perhaps, reading the doubts in the minds of operators and, indeed, Nigerians on his capacity to pull this through, Buhari while presenting the “Budget of Recovery and Growth,” backed his avowed commitment to turn the country into a manufacturing hub with a number of policy pronouncements. Hopes were raised that a new deal was perhaps, in the offing for the real sector, which comprises manufacturing and agriculture.

    For instance, the president noted that because of the emphasis on industrialisation and supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the Federal Government  set aside N50 billion as contribution for the development of new Export Processing and Special Economic Zones. Old ones are to be expanded.

    Before the budget presentation, The Nation learnt from sources close to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment that the industrial sector would receive a major boost this year, as funding had been included in the budget to reflate the sector. The ministry was said to have secured funding in the budget for the development of six  Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

    The SEZs, according to the sources, who declined to be mentioned because they were not authorised to speak, are expected to be launched this month, with Afrexim Bank and EXIM Bank of China committing $1 billion to the project. According to Buhari, the SEZs will be developed in partnership with the private sector, as the government continues to promote and protect Nigerian businesses.

    Expectedly, the N50 billion earmarked in the budget for the SEZ project has earned Buhari the commendation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    Its Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said it will boost manufacturing and SMEs. The LCCI and indeed, other members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) were no less gladdened by the N20 billion voted in the 2017 budget for the revival of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) programme.

    According to the president, as the benefits of agriculture and mining are  becoming visible, the EEG will be revived in the form of tax credits to companies. This, in his view, will further enhance the development of agriculture and mining, bringing in more investments and creating more jobs.

    The Federal Government introduced the EEG in 1999 to encourage non-oil exports and cushion the effects of cost disadvantages faced by local exporters due to infrastructural deficits. The grant was disbursed in the form of the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) and was utilised by beneficiaries for the payment of customs and excise duty on their export shipments.

    However, the extant policy on EEG and the utilisation of NDCC was suspended in January 2014. Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun recently cited abuse of the export grant as a reason. Since then, many exporters have been screaming blue murder that the suspension of the scheme impacted negatively on their non-oil export activities. They complained that the huge backlog of unutilised NDCCs amounting to over N300 billion, according to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), paralysed their operations.

    They, therefore, intensified push for the return of EEG and settlement of backlog of unutilised NDCCs to drive the non-oil export sector.

    The Executive Secretary, Organised Private Sector Exporters’ Association (OPEXA), Mr. Jaiyeola Olarewaju, said the only way out for Nigeria to disentangle itself from the shackles of mono-economy was for the government to diversify the country’s export sector.

    This was why the inclusion of EEG and the NDCC in the 2017 budget proposal, with commitment that payment will resume soon, was music in the ears of OPS members including the  Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

    Its President, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, has been in the forefront of the agitation for the review of the  policy on EEG and the utilisation of the NDCCs.

    To unlock the huge, but largely untapped potential in the SME sector, this year’s budget proposal also sought to address the difficulties faced by SMEs in accessing longer term, more affordable credit. To address this situation, President Buhari said N15 billion has been provided for the recapitalisation of the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA)

    He also said the Development Bank of Nigeria will soon start operations with $1.3 billion focused exclusively on SMEs. The president noted that agriculture remained at the heart of his administration’s efforts to diversify the economy. And to underscore this, he said the proposed allocation to the sector this year was N92 billion.

    “This sum will complement the existing efforts by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost agricultural productivity through increased intervention funding at single digit interest rate under the Anchor Borrowers Programme, commercial agricultural credit scheme and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending,” Buhari said.

    He explained that, his administration’s agricultural policy will focus on the integrated development of the agricultural sector by facilitating access to inputs, improving market access, providing equipment and storage as well as supporting the development of commodity exchanges.

    Buhari also noted that achieving this goal required improving the skills of the labour force, especially young people. He, therefore, said government has made provision to establish and operate model technical and vocational education institutes, working with the private sector and state governments.

    His emphasis on local content and encouraging patronage of locally produced goods rather than imports was also seen as shot in the arm of real sector operators. In doing so, he regretted that Nigeria wasted her large foreign exchange reserves to import nearly everything it consumed.

    He said this was why low oil prices in the past 18 months saw the nation’s foreign exchange earnings cut by about 60 per cent, and her reserves eroded. Consumption also declined, as Nigeria could not import to meet her needs.

    “By importing nearly everything, we provide jobs for young men and women in the countries that produce what we import, while our own young people wander around jobless. By preferring imported goods, we ensure steady jobs for the nationals of other countries, while our own farmers, manufacturers, engineers, and marketers, remain jobless,” Buhari stated.

    He therefore maintained that under his watch, the old Nigeria will disappear and a new era will rise in which “we grow what we eat and consume what we make. We will increasingly grow and process our own food…we will buy ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ goods… We will patronise local entrepreneurs.

    “We will promote the manufacturing powerhouses in Aba, Calabar, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Nnewi, Onitsha, and Ota. From light manufacturing to cement production and petrochemicals, our objective is to make Nigeria a new manufacturing hub,” he declared.

    Infrastructure is game changer

    The role of infrastructure in creating inclusive growth was not lost on the president. This was why he said this year, government will focus on the rapid development of infrastructure, especially rail, roads and power.

    He added that efforts to fast-track the modernisation of railway system are priorities. He specifically announced the allocation of N213.14 billion as counterpart funding for the Lagos-Kano, Calabar-Lagos, Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Warri railway, and Kaduna-Abuja railway projects.

    According to development experts and operators in various sectors of the economy, massive infrastructure deficit remained one of the stumbling blocks to Nigeria’s road to economic growth and development.

    They argue that reducing the country’s huge infrastructure deficit estimated at $350 billion will be a game changer to unlock productivity, improve business competitiveness and create employment.

    In tackling the infrastructure deficit, The Nation learnt that government plans to actively partner the private sector by using new funding platforms including the Road Trust Fund, which will develop potentially tollable roads, and the Family Homes Fund, which is an on-going Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative for funding of affordable housing.

    Budget size

    Under the proposed N7.3 trillion budget for 2017, N2.24 trillion, representing 30.7 per cent of the budget, would be committed to capital expenditure aimed at pulling the economy out of recession.

    Capital expenditure was increased from N1.8 trillion in 2016 to N2.24 trillion in 2017 and N2.98 trillion as recurrent expenditure for the 2017 fiscal year.

    While the 2016 Budget was predicated on a benchmark oil price of $38 per barrel, oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N197 to the dollar, the 2017 budget moved higher, proposing an oil price benchmark of $42.5 per barrel as well as using a more realistic exchange rate of N305 to the dollar.

    Experts say apart from the fact that the 2017 oil price benchmark of $42.5 per barrel was achievable, given the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC’s) agreements on production cuts, its output projection of 2.2 million bpd was also realistic.

    They hinge their position on the fact that the Federal Government had since stepped up efforts at addressing the restiveness and agitations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where activities of militants and pipeline vandals have seen crude oil production reducing to almost half.

    Other initiatives

    Apart from announcing that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will get N81 billion, Buhari also established the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) to be chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    PEBEC will have the mandate to make doing business in Nigeria Buhari said that with the council, which has Industry Minister Okechukwu Enelamah as vice-chairman, getting approvals for business and procurements will be simplified and made faster.