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Tag: budget

  • National Assembly passes N574.532b supplementary budget

    National Assembly passes N574.532b supplementary budget

    • N521b cash for fuel subsidy

    The Senate yesterday passed the 2015 Supplementary Appropriation Bill of N574,532,726,857 billion

    The amount passed is N108, 895,800,000 higher than N465,636,926,857 billion submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

    The N108.895 billion was added by the Senate as additional fund meant to pay fuel subsidy claims between October to December 2015.

    The sum of N120billion was provided in the supplementary budget as arrears of fuel subsidy claims (carry over) from last year while the sum of N292 billion was provided for payment of claims of subsidy for January to September 2015.

    As indicated in the amendment to the 2015 Fiscal Framework, the Supplementary Budget is to be funded through borrowing.

    Before endorsing the Supplementary Budget for implementation by the Executive, the Senate went into a lengthy closed session to discuss and agree on the modalities to pass the fiscal document.

    The Senate had on November read for the first time 2015 Supplementary Appropriation Bill in the sum of N465,636,926,857 billion submitted to it by President Buhari.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje who presented the report of his committee for consideration and approval said the bill fundamentally sought to among other things, make available additional funds for the fight against insurgency in the Northeast and payment of outstanding subsidy claims in order to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians.

    Goje noted that the provision for subsidy only covered last year’s arrears of N120.5 billion and the claims of January-September of N292 billion.

    He stressed the need to provide additional funding in the sum of N108,895,800,000 only for fuel subsidy for the months of October, November and December “to ensure that the 2016 budget takes off on a clean slate.”

    He said the issue of the additional subsidy claims came up in the course of clarification of the total subsidy need for the year ending 2015, by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    Goje said the provision for Victim Support Fund (N5billion) in the Capital Supplementary should have been made in the Service Wide Vote since it is a Federal Government contribution to a fund managed by a Committee which is neither a minsitry, department or agency (MDA) of government.

    He also stressed the need to adjust the proposed amendment to the 2015 Fiscal Framework to capture the additional funding need of N108.895billion for fuel subsidy.

    The committee chair said:  “With the Supplementary Bill, including the additional funding need of fuel subsidy, the total aggregate expenditure for the fiscal year 2015 will be the sum of N4,493,363,957,158 in the 2015 Appropriation Act, the proposed sum of N465,636,926,857 and the additional funding need of N108,895,800,000 for fuel subsidy amounting to N5,067,896,684,015 trillion.

  • Dogara seeks better funding for IDPs in 2016 budget

    Dogara seeks better funding for IDPs in 2016 budget

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara has urged the Presidency to make adequate budgetary provision next year for the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

    He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to forward a bill to the National Assembly for the ratification of the Kampala Treaty on Internally Displaced Persons for ratification.

    The Speaker made the call in his remarks at the sensitisation workshop on the role of the parliament in addressing the challenges of IDPs in Nigeria, organised by the House Committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees and Initiatives on the Northeast.

    It was organised in collaboration with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

    Dogara said the House was processing a Bill to consolidate the anti-terrorism legislations into one document for ease of use and reference, and that the National Assembly has always supported all budgetary requests from the Executive to fight terrorism.

    Chairman of the House Committee on IDPs, Refugees and Northeast Initiative, Sani Zorro, noted that the over two million IDPs scattered across the country in  different camps are faced with “substandard facilities, most of whom are women and orphaned children, with hunger and malnutrition as the common denominators that define their lives”.

  • Buhari sends N465.64b supplementary budget to National Assembly

    Buhari sends N465.64b supplementary budget to National Assembly

    • Seeks revision of borrowing plan from N882.2b to N2.103 tr

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday submitted a N465,636,926,857 supplementary Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

    In the bill, N460,636,926,857  is for additional recurrent (non debt). The balance of N5,000,000,000 is for contribution to the Development Fund for additional capital expenditure for the year ending on 31st day of December, 2015.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki read the Presidential Communication containing the breakdown of the supplementary budget on the floor of the Senate.

    Buhari said the supplementary budget became necessary because the implementation of the 2015 budget had been fraught with significant revenue shortfalls due to continuous decline in oil prices, oil production shortfall and non-oil revenue.

    He added that owing to the need to sustain current progress in addressing security challenges and other important obligations of the  government, the emergency expenditure items required urgent funding is projected at N465.64 billion

    Buhari said: “The Senate President you may wish to recall that the 2015 budget was predicated on oil production of 2.2782 million barrels per day; benchmark oil price of $53 per barrel and an exchange rate of N190 per dollar.

    “Based on these three assumptions the following fiscal budget was projected

    “FGN budget revenue (of) N3.452 trillion made (up) of share of oil and mineral revenue- N1.645 trillion share of non oil revenue N1.215 trillion, FGN Independent revenue-N489.3 billion

    “FGN aggregate expenditure was estimated at N4.485 trillion, comprising of statutory transfers-N354.34 billion, debt service-N953.6 billion, recurrent-non debt personnel cost-N1.828 trillion, recurrent non debt overhead -N791.2billion,capital expenditure N536. 6 billion.

    “However, the implementation of the FGN2015 budget has been fraught with significant revenue shortfalls due to continuous decline in oil price, oil production shortfall and  non oil revenue.

    “You may wish to further note that owing to the need to sustain the current progress in addressing the security challenges and other important obligations of government, emergency expenditure items required urgent funding is projected at N465.64 billion.

    “Operation Lafiya Dole and others-N39.65 billion, provision for prison rations, feeding for unity schools and others-N2 billion, provision for balance of severance gratuity and allowances of out gone and incoming legislators and legislative aides-N10.62 billion and emergency provision for subsidy claims-N413.36 billion which gave a total of N465.64 billion.”

    Buhari noted that “given this new level of expenditure and revenue constraint, the 2015 Budget which had a projected fiscal deficit of N1.041 trillion (or 1.09 per cent in GDP),  with the deficit largely financed by the domestic borrowing of N502.1 billion and foreign borrowing of N380.0 billion (total borrowing amounting to N882. 12 billion), calls for additional borrowing.

    “The expected deficit arising from the above is projected at N2.103 trillion (or 2.19 per cent of GDP) to be financed by additional borrowing of N1.601 trillion through the Debt Management Office,” he added.

    The president noted that he deemed it necessary to formally request the concurrence of the National Assembly to please consider and approve: an upward review of the fiscal deficit from 1.09 per cent of GDP to 2.19 per cent of GDP; upward revision of the new borrowing from N882.1 billion to N2.103 trillion; a new funding requirement to address security challenges and other important obligations with the sum of N465.64 billion.

  • Saraki: we‘ll make National Assembly’s 2016 budget public

    Saraki: we‘ll make National Assembly’s 2016 budget public

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has promised that the National Assembly will make public, the details of its next year’s budget breakdown.

    He spoke in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Social Media, Mr. Bamikole Omishore, in Abuja.

    Saraki said from next year, the citizens would not have to rely on ‘’falsehood they received from some online media”.

    The development, he said, was in fulfillment of his inaugural promise and part of efforts to satisfy the curiosity of some Nigerians, who had been clamouring that the budget should be made public.

    The statement also reads in part: “By the time we come into the 2016 budget, at the end of the year, it will be clearer because people just see one item line.

    “But that is not going to happen now; you will see what goes to the Senate and what goes to the House of Representatives.

    “You are going to see what goes to the management, what goes to the Legislative Institute and we are going to make all these open and clear.

    “That is part of the openness we promised.”

    He noted that at his inauguration on June 9, he promised that there would be change from impunity and elite arrogance to a life of accountability and respect for every citizen.

    The National Assembly must, therefore, justify the privilege of representation conferred on it by the people, Saraki said.

    “As the President of the Eighth Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, I shall be guided by the enormity of the responsibilities that this moment imposes on all of us,’’ he said.

    Saraki restated his commitment to being accessible to the citizens on the dealings of the Senate, saying that he understood the expectations of Nigerians.

  • Buhari orders provision for basic healthcare fund in 2016 budget

    Buhari orders provision for basic healthcare fund in 2016 budget

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide for the basic health care provision fund under the 2016 Budget Appropriation.

    He spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, at an event marking Nigeria’s delisting as a polio-endemic country.

    Buhari expressed pleasure that Nigeria had not recorded any case of polio in the last one year.

    He said the nation was working on a revised National Health Policy, which would have the achievement of Universal Health Coverage as its main ultimate goal.

    The President hailed the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its consistent stewardship in Global Health Security

    Buhari, who said efforts to eradicate polio from Nigeria started in 1998, added that it took much toll on the country in terms of human and material resources.

    He promised that his administration would not relent to save children from further paralysis from polio.

    The President hailed vaccinators, community mobilisers, partners, parents and caregivers, traditional and religious leaders, who have supported the polio eradication initiative of the government through the years.

    “By the same token, we thank development partners, particularly WHO, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States (U.S.) Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S.-Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Rotary International and a host of others who contributed financially and materially to the overall efforts,” Buhari said.

    The President also said another major area of concern to his administration was how to address the large morbidity and mortality rates caused by neglected tropical diseases.

    Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who represented the Director General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, said: “I am very honoured and pleased to congratulate the people and government of Nigeria on the interruption of the Wild Polio Virus transmission, and to officially inform that Nigeria has been removed from the list of polio endemic countries.”

    She noted that Nigeria still had a long way to go from the polio interruption to eradication.

     

  • 2016 Budget will boost economic diversification, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said that the 2016 National Budget being prepared by his administration will include fresh policies and measures to encourage the rapid diversification of the Nigerian economy away from its current over-dependence on the oil and gas sector.

    He made the remark during an audience with the President of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), Mr. Pierre Gattaz and a delegation of French investors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja

    According to him, the policies being evolved by his administration to boost domestic manufacturing and attract greater investment to Nigeria’s agricultural and mining sectors will be given full effect under the 2016 budget.

    He urged Mr. Gattaz and the French trade mission, which includes over 50 companies with interest in manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure development and other areas, to return to Nigeria again next year in order to take full advantage of the new policies.

    President Buhari, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, also assured the French investors that under his leadership, Nigeria will not fall short of international standards in the protection of foreign investments and the repatriation of returns on such investments.

    Noting that domestic security and the inflow of foreign investment were intrinsically linked, the President told the French investors, whose visit to Nigeria is a follow-up to his recent trip to Paris, that the Federal Government was taking all necessary measures to overcome Nigeria’s security challenges.

  • Niger to mainstream gender issues into policy planning, budget

    Niger State Head of Service (HOS) Mohammed Maude Lapai has said the government is working towards mainstreaming gender and social issues into its policy planning and budget.

    He said the state had 36 per cent of women in positions as permanent secretaries and directors, adding that the government was working to surpass the 35 per cent of women who would be given appointive positions.

    Speaking at a training workshop on Gender Policy Analysis and Training of Staff on Gender Mainstreaming in Minna, the HOS said there were nine women permanent secretaries of 25 permanent secretaries in the civil service, which showed that women possessed the professional and intellectual ability to perform administrative duties.

    Lapai, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Hajiya Maimuna Abdullahi, said the essence of governance was to ensure the fundamental rights of every human being, urging governments to explore the MDGs goal of women empowerment.

    He said equality of opportunities between women and men should be such that both gender were given equal rights and entitlements to human, social, economic and cultural development, adding that they should have equal voice in civil and political life.

    The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaju Shehu Umar Danyaya, said a society could not be established if more than 50 per cent of its population were neglected.

    He said although the state had been capturing gender and social inclusion issues, efforts needed to be intensified in gender and social inclusion issues, adding that the vision of the Governor Abubakar Sani Bello administration included gender inclusion at all levels of government.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Rachael Yisa, said the only way to correct the scourge and end poverty was to provide women with equal opportunities as men, noting that until government stepped in to empower women and provide them with equal opportunities, the country would not develop.

  • Pruning independence celebrations budget

    The fiscal discipline machine is alive and revving. It is no longer news that President Muhammadu Buhari rejected the purchase of new cars for his personal use when he took office.

    He had insisted on using the cars left behind by former President Goodluck Jonathan. By that singular act, he saved the country N400 million. Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also cut their salaries by 50% at the beginning of their tenure.

    While Buhari is still pursuing looters of the commonwealth of Nigerians, stolen from the national treasury under former President Jonathan, he has also remained focused on blocking or cutting down drastically any area of leakage or wastage under his watch.

    One of his ways of blocking financial leakages was the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) for all non-exempted Federal Government’s revenue generating agencies to pay in their revenues, rather than using multiple accounts, which are susceptible to fraud.

    Complying with the TSA directive was a sort of bitter pills to swallow for some of the civil servants as they hesitated and tried to dodge the Presidential order.

    The latest area where President Buhari has cut down wastages, which is in the public domain, is the expenses to be incurred by Nigeria towards her 55th independence celebration billed for Thursday, October 1.

    As he cut down the budget for the celebration to N70 million, Buhari harped on the need to avoid frivolity and the importance of channelling such resources to good use for the benefit of the man on the street.

    To him, having a low-key independence celebration and using the money that would have been spent on elaborate celebration for tangible infrastructure and development is the way to go.

    This N70 million budget is in contrast to most costs expended on past independence anniversary celebration in the country.

    The costs of such annual celebrations under the immediate past administration had been in billion naira range.

    The celebration, then often go with a lot of fanfare and drains on the treasury despite the fact that the country was suffering from many infrastructural decays and poverty in the land.

    But announcing the low-key 2015 independence celebration last Tuesday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, through the Permanent Secretary (Political) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (OSGF), Ibukun Odusote said: “Let me emphasise that this year’s celebration is indeed low-key.

    “This is because the present administration appreciates the economic hardship that Nigerians and indeed the nation is confronted with today.

    “To address the situation, government has adopted a general policy to be very prudent in the management of our financial resources. This year’s celebration is therefore, in consonance with the cost saving policy direction of this administration.

    “To ensure a successful commemoration, four sub-committees have been constituted to handle the preparations for each of the four event. The events are: Jumat prayers, international thanksgiving service, ceremonial change of guards and a children’s party.” He stated

     

  • Ambode seeks re-ordering of budget

    Ambode seeks re-ordering of budget

    •House sets up committee

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has requested the House of Assembly to re-order the state’s budget.

    The request was contained in a letter the governor sent to the Assembly which was read at plenary yesterday.

    Titled: “Re-ordering of priorities under the 2015 Budget”, the governor said the budget of N489.690 billion, which has been partially implemented by the last administration, had recorded 60 per cent overall performance as at June.

    “This level of performance,” the governor said, “has made it imperative to go back to the drawing board to structure a more conscientious approach to tilt our total investment in the remaining months in order to meet the target capital/recurrent ratio of 51:49.”

    According to Ambode, N23.97 billion will be re-ordered and of this  N18.278 billion is needed for capital projects, while N5.697 billion is for recurrent expenditure.

    Reasons for the re-ordering, according to the letter, include construction of a pedestrian bridge at Ojodu Berger, construction of fly-over bridges at Ajah Roundabout and Pen Cinema, Agege.

    The letter added that the budget re-ordering proposal would cater for the continuation of the construction of blue light rail project, continuation of the construction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and acquisition of emergency/rescue helicopters and heavy duty equipment (cranes and forklift) and for Employment Trust Fund and Wealth Creation Programmes.

    “It is worthy of note that we are constrained by the fact that there are no new revenue sources for the remaining months of the year, and as a result we would not be in a position to propose a supplementary budget. Hence, the recourse to a re-ordering of the budget,” the letter read.

    After deliberating on the request, the House set up an adhoc committee to look into the request.

    Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1) is the chairman. Other members are Desmond Elliot, Ibrahim Layode, Rasheed Makinde, Dayo Saka Fafunmi, Yinka Ogundimu and Alimi Kassim.

    The committee is to submit its report on September 22.

     

  • Set aside 10% of budget for agric, govt urged

    The Federal Government has been urged to set aside 10 per cent of the budget for agriculture to ensure food security.

    The sector, according to the Deputy Director, Directorate of General Management, Agricultural and Rural Management Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State, Dr Ademola Adeyemo, is slowly recovering from disrupted farming.

    Adeyemo said agriculture is one of the key sectors that have propelled steady and sustainable economic growth. To this end,  adequate funding, he said, is needed to help the government follow a clear roadmap for its development.

    Past budgets, he said, have not allocated sufficient funds to agriculture, especially in the expansion of infrastructure for growth. Post-Budget analysis revealed that the allocation is not adequate for the boosting of the sector and falls below the international benchmarks. He said key agricultural areas are still underfunded falling short of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) target of allocating 10 per cent of the budget to agricultural sector.

    Adeyemo stressed the need to allocate more resources to other key areas such as research and development and provision of extension services and infrastructure. He recognised that several positive measures and pronouncements have been presented in the budget to support agricultural development. He urges the government to ensure that the ideas are backed by implementation.

    According to him, sufficient budgetary provisions will translate into a vibrant agricultural sector, raking in revenue into the Government’s coffers and providing jobs for Nigerians to contribute effectively towards economic growth.

    He urged the government to employ prudent fiscal discipline as a key to ensuring financial sustainability and quality service delivery.

    Adeyemo also asked for doubled efforts aimed at using improved seed variety and diversify on-farm activities. These measures, he added, should be supplemented by enhanced extension services.

    He called on the government to enhance the use of science and technology in the pursuit of its policy objective of achieving a competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural sector.