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Tag: budget

  • N120bn Budget: Reps set up committee to assess NASS’ needs

    N120bn Budget: Reps set up committee to assess NASS’ needs

    House of Representatives  Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday inaugurated  a committee to conduct a Needs Assessment of the chamber / National Assembly.

    The committee, which is made up of eminent Nigerians and representatives of  civil society organizations,  is to “judiciously determine the proper cost of running the legislative arm of government to enable it play its constitutionally-assigned responsibilities.”

    Dogara  said at the inauguration that for the legislative arm to function effectively, resources must be made available by the executive.

    “However, resources that may be made available would be based on the actual needs and not greed of the Legislature. There has been no study or assessment of what the legislature needs to perform optimally in Nigeria. We have all been making, at best, educated guesswork on whether the legislature is adequately funded or not,” he said.

    “An appropriate Needs Assessment may well find out that the Legislature in Nigeria is overfunded or that it is underfunded. There should be an empirical and objective study to determine this.

    “It is as a result, that the House of Representatives made a commitment in its Legislative Agenda to set up an Independent Committee comprising – Civil Society Organisations (CSO’s), independent Groups and professional bodies with the support of international development partners, to conduct a Needs Assessment of the actual requirements of running and maintaining the institution of the House of Representatives/National Assembly in Nigeria in order to carry out its legislative functions.”

    The terms of reference of the committee include:

    What it would cost the House of Representatives and the National Assembly to conduct Public Hearings on the bills and other legislative measures passed by both chambers, including live coverage of these activities; what it would cost to communicate all its proceedings and activities to its different constituencies and the general public;  what it would cost to build, equip and maintain all the infrastructure, like offices of the bureaucracy, Members, Committee Rooms, Hearing Rooms; modernization of Chambers of both Houses, electronic communications infrastructure, e- parliament facilities; what it would cost the National Assembly to conduct proper policy and budget oversight on the executive branch, including all its agencies in order to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste and what it would cost to take important legislative measures down to the grassroots, to members constituencies.

    Members of the Committee include Clement Nwankwo       (PLAC), who is the Chairman; National Institute for Legislative Studies (Secretariat);  Representative of the Clerk to the National Assembly,  Austin Alegeh; NBA President or Representative, Otunba Olufemi  Deru (ICAN President) or Representative,  Waheed Odusile (NUJ President)    or Representative, Elias Mbam (RMAFC)      or Representative, Senator Ita Enang        and Hon Albert Sam-Tsokwa.

    Others are Prof Mike Obadan, Dr Kabiru Mato,  Seun Onigbinde (BUDGIT), Idayat Hassan (CDD), Samson Itodo (YIAGA), Ben Arikpo (FEPAR), Saudatu Mahdi (WRAPA),  Mimidoo Achapa (WREP),  Clara Barnet (DFID)    and  Bolaji Kehinde (UNDP).

  • Budget 2015 : House to probe non-implementation of capital allocation

    The House of Representatives has set up an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate what it called, the “non-implementation of Capital budget and serial violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.”

    Speaker of the House of Representatives said the Committee would investigate the level of implementation of the capital expenditure of the 2015 Appropriation Act.

    N556,995,465,449 was earmarked for capital expenditure in the 2015 budget, while   N4.9 trillion was approved by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Hon. Ahmed Pategi (APC-Kwara) is the chairman of the Committee which is also to ascertain the performance of the Federal Ministry of Finance in carrying out its mandate as contained in the Appropriation Act, and section 30 (1,2) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007. The Committees report is expected  to be submitted to the House on resumption which is about the last quarter of the 2015 financial year.

    The resolution was sequel to the passage of a motion moved under privilege by Hon. Patrick Asadu (PDP, Enugu).

    Asadu in the motion titled:  “Non-Implementation of Capital Projects as Contained in the 2015 Appropriation Act; Federal Government Budget and Serial Breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act by the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Threats to my Effective Representation of my Constituency,” requested for the investigation and determine the extent to which  the budget was  implemented and its effects on the nation’s economy.

    He pointed out that the 1999 constitution, sections 80-83 clearly stipulates how monies belonging to the federal Republic of Nigeria can be kept and spent and clearly vests in the National Assembly the powers to appropriate monies for expenditure by government.

    “By sections 81 and 82 of the 1999 constitution as amended, the federal Government expenditures must be either as direct charges on the constitution, as contained in the Appropriation Act or supplementary Appropriation Acr where applicable, or as may be specifically prescribed by the National Assembly, while section 30(1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, clearly mandates the Hon. Minister of Finance through the Budget Office, to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the annual budget, and assess the attainment of fiscal targets and report thereon on a quarterly basis to the Joint Finance Committee of the National Assembly, and to also publish same in the mass and electronic media not later than 30 days after the end of each quarter of the financial year,” he said.

    The lawmaker further stated that “Since there has not being any constitutional amendment adjusting the financial year by the National Assembly nor has any public announcement has been made by the Ministry of Finance in any mass and electronic media on the implementation of the budget and attainment of fiscal targets”, he said.

    He noted that Section 81 and 82 of the 1999 constitution as amended, provides that Federal Government expenditures must be either direct charges on the constitution, as contained in the Appropriation Act or Supplementary Appropriation Act while applicable or as may be specifically prescribed by the National Assembly.

  • ‘Vote 10% of budget for agric’

    The Federal Government will need to set aside 10 per cent of its budget on agriculture to ensure food security, an expert, Dr Ademola Adeyemo has said.

    Adeyemo, who is the Deputy Director, Directorate of General Administration, Agricultural and Rural Management Institute (ARMTI), said agriculture is one of the  key sectors that have propelled economic growth.

    He said adequate funding was needed to help the government follow a roadmap for the development of the sector.

    According to him, a post-budget analysis revealed that that the allocation is not adequate for the boosting of the sector and fall 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 total budget to the agricultural sector.

    According to him, the budget allocation still falls short of CAADP targets of allocating 10 per cent of the total funds to the agriculture sector, stressing 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 various positive measures and pronouncements have been presented in the budget to support agricultural development but urged 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 coffers and providing jobs for Nigerians to contribute effectively towards economic growth.

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

    He said setting aside 10 per cent would help the sector to develop stimulating high production levels in crop and livestock segments.

    This, he said, was vital in making Nigeria a food basket. Adeyemo also asked for efforts to promote conservation agriculture, use of improved seed varieties and diversify on-farm activities.

    These measures, he added, should be supplemented by enhanced extension services.

    He said increasing the budget would ensure national food and nutritional security, mitigating poverty levels and creating jobs.

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

     

  • Lagos Assembly approves N59.3b budget for 57 local councils

    Lagos Assembly approves N59.3b budget for 57 local councils

    The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday approved a budget of N59, 287,974,102 for the 20 local governments and local council development areas (LCDAs).

    The House gave the approval, following a debate on the report submitted by the ad-hoc committee headed by the Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru.

    The House observed that most councils and LCDAs performed poorly in the area of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), among others.

    It, therefore, recommended the need to shore up their revenue generation drive to meet the needs of the people.

    A breakdown of the budget showed that Ifelodun LCDA got the highest vote of N1,632,880,355.48, followed by Apapa Local Government with N1,624,051,414.28.

    Agege Local Government got  N1,459,916,003; Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government, N1,557,825,411.00; Ikeja N1,001,105,683.16; Lagos Mainland N1,589,879,806.22 and Mushin Local Government Area, N1,139,863,539.33.

    Submitting the report of the committee,  Abiru said  the decision to scrutinise the budget of the councils was in consonance with Section 3 of the Local Government Council Committee Law, 2007.

     “Most councils and LCDAs  performed poorly in the IGR, hence their reliance on Federal Allocation.

    “Their overhead estimate was  bloated to the detriment of Capital  Expenditure.”

    In passing the budget, members urged the councils to explore all revenue sources and block leakages.

    They also urged them to give priority to capital expenditure so as to ensure physical development at the grassroots.

  • Firm partners UN to increase access to budget

    A civic technology and transparency advocacy group, BudgIT Nigeria, has partnered the United Nations (UN) to increase access and ensure transparency in government budgets.

    The partnership is aimed at tracking projects in 24 communities in six states across the federation.

    BudgIT is already working with Kaduna and Edo states to ensure transparency.

    The UN is facilitating the agreement under its Democracy Fund programme to enhance citizen participation in local governance.

    The pact will also enable community members to understand public finance data and capital projects captured in their areas.

    In a statement, BudgIT’s Lead Partner Oluseun Onigbinde said the partnership was the culmination of prior advocacy work at the grassroots.

    He said: “Since 2013, we have worked in over 300 communities. We note that for every 10 communities visited, only one has constituents that have knowledge of the budget or local projects provided for in their states. This partnership will expand our campaign to ensure that every Nigerian attains his or her rightful place as a partner in government, not as mere spectators.”

    UNDEF’s Deputy Head Mikiko Sawanishi said the agency supported projects that could strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

    He said: “We are thrilled to support the project: ‘Creative Communication on Nigeria’s Budget’, implemented by BudgIT. The project will provide citizens of Nigeria with information on the formulated national budget as well as planned public projects, in order to increase transparency and accountability…”

  • N120b budget not for lawmakers only

    N120b budget not for lawmakers only

    A Member of the House of Representatives and former chairman, National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, Hon. Mohammed Abdulkadir Mahmud (Niger State), yesterday defended the N129 billion National Assembly budget.

    According to him, the N120 billion is not for the lawmakers alone.

    He said: Under the National Assembly is the Institute for Legislative Studies, the management of the National Assembly, the National Assembly Service Commission,  individual legislators and their entitlements, the National Assembly Budget Office, legislative aides as well as the running costs of the Senate and the House Representatives chambers.”

    Mahmud added: “We are worried about the information being pushed out to give the impression that all we are here, is to make money, that is not true, but let me also state here clearly that the National Assembly, comprising of all its organs has N120billion to spend in the 2015 budget.

    “We have the management of the National Assembly and commission; they drew their salaries and allowances from that money, we have the running of the two chambers, we have the salaries and allowances of lawmakers, we have the legislative aides salaries from that money, we have committee assignments from that money, the National Assembly budget Office, all these organs draw their monies from that budget.

    “And let me state again that the car loans that people talk about are actually loans which we have to pay from our salaries before the completion of our tenure; it is not free. Look at the housing, it is about N3.5 million. Now go to town and find out the cost of renting a house in town.

    “But what some people would do is to simply divide the N120 billion by 469 lawmakers and that is not fair and I want you the media to properly inform the people, so that they would know the true position of things.”

     

  • Senate okays N4.493tr budget

    Senate okays N4.493tr budget

    • Buhari asked to forward supplementary budget to NASS

    The Senate yesterday concurred with the House of Representatives by appropriating N4, 493,363,957,158 as the budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

    This is coming even as the lawmakers asked the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari,  to send the National Assembly a supplementary budget that would take care of glaring shortcomings in the Appropriation Act

    Appropriation Committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Maccido presented the recommendations of his committee and the Committee on Finance on the 2015 Appropriation Bill.

    Like the budget passed by the House of Representatives, no appropriation was made for fuel subsidy.

    Some said the implication was that fuel subsidy had been tactically stopped. Others hinted that with the fall in oil prices in the international market, fuel subsidy should also be affected.

    Maccido noted in his submission that given that due consideration had been given to the preparation of the 2015 Appropriation Bill, the joint committee recommended that the Senate should approve the Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the consolidated revenue fund of the federation the total sum of N4,493,363,957,158 only for the year ending 31 December this year.

    Out of the amount,  N375,616,000,000 is for statutory transfers; N953,620,000,000 for debt service; N2,607,132,491,708   for recurrent (non debt) expenditure while the balance of N556,995,465,449 inclusive of N144,420,000,000 in statutory transfer is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending 31st December, this year.

    Maccido explained that Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) component of the budget to the tune of N21,030,000,000 did not form part of the aggregate budget figure of N4,425,930,000,000.

    He said the amount had  however been captured in the final compilation of the Bill having been submitted for the approval of the National Assembly.

    Maccido also said in preparing this year’s budget, the committee adopted a benchmark price of $53 per barrel of crude oil on the recommendation of the Conference Committee on Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).

    He said the committee also adopted the executive proposal of crude oil production of 2.2782 million barrel per day (mbpd) and the exchange rate of N190 to $1.

    Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi who spoke to our reporter on the budget said there would be need to realign the budget to fit into the priorities of the incoming administration.

    He said the realignment would naturally be in form of supplementary budget for necessary amendment

    He said: “The budget is staggering into two successive administrations coming from different political parties.

    “So it is normal that with the kick-off of the new administration, one would expect that the new administration look into the budget to see how it fits into his (Buhari’s) own priorities.

  • Cross River passes N127.85b budget into law

    Cross River passes N127.85b budget into law

    The Cross River House of Assembly (CRHA) has passed the 2015 appropriation budget of N127. 85billion into law.

    Presenting the budget, Chairman House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Dr. Jacob Otu-Enyia,  said the budget estimate of N149.44billion had earlier been presented to the assembly by Governor Liyel Imoke in October last year.

    Otu-Enyia said having studied the budget with other members of the committee, it was resolved that the sum of N127.85billion be adopted for passage as the 2015 budget for the state.

    The lawmaker gave reasons for the reduction of the budget to include, the fall in oil price from $65 per barrel to $53 per barrel, and the current economic downturn in the country.

    The budget was unanimously passed inot law by all members of the assembly.

    The clerk of the House, Mr Bassey Ekpeyong, was asked to prepare a clean copy of the bill and send to the governor for his assent.

  • IMF backs Irish budget flexibility request from EU

    The IMF has backed Ireland’s calls for the European Commission to grant it some budget flexibility, saying the current fiscal rules do not reflect an Irish economic recovery “starting to fire on all cylinders”.

    After years of painful budget cuts to get its public finances under control, Ireland demanded more leeway this month for its budget spending next year, having seen the Commission show similar leniency to France and Italy.

    Ireland has slashed its budget deficit from 12.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2011 to an expected 2.7 percent this year. Now it wants to be allowed to increase spending in line with its GDP growth rate next year rather than a lower, calculated average.

    “In Ireland’s case, the current EU methodology understates cyclical swings in unemployment, with implications for estimates of output gaps and potential growth,” the International Monetary Fund said in a report on the Irish economy.

    “Staff, therefore, welcomes ongoing work by the Irish authorities to refine some aspects of the EC methodology.”

    Under the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact, euro zone countries must consolidate public finances until they reach balance or surplus.

    The rules say that a government whose budget deficit is smaller than 3 per cent of GDP, but not yet in balance, as Ireland’s is likely to be this year, cannot increase spending more than its medium-term potential GDP growth. This is meant to ensure a gradual strengthening of the underlying budget balance.

    However, the Commission calculates this using a 10-year average, which after the deep recession that preceded Ireland’s international bailout puts the reference growth rate for the period 2014-16 at 0.7 per cent, the IMF said.

    That compares to growth of 4.8 per cent last year – the fastest expansion in the European Union – and IMF estimates of 3.5 per cent growth this year and a further 3 per cent in 2016.

    “Refinements of the current EU methodology for estimating potential GDP for Ireland should therefore, be developed and assessed to enable the fiscal rules to better serve their purpose,” the IMF said.

    Ireland was able to cut income tax rates and increase spending for the first time in seven years this year and has pledged to do so again in October’s budget for 2016 ahead of parliamentary elections early next year.

    The IMF recommended a phased and steady adjustment towards a balanced budget over the next three years and said that there was some flexibility to further ease the burden on higher income workers.

     

  • LCCI lauds NASS on budget

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has  lauded the outcome of the deliberations of the Senate on 2015 Draft Budget, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper [FSP).

    Its President, Alhaji Remi Bello, said many of the decisions of the Upper Legislative Chamber were consistent with realities which call for  spending priorities for national development.

    He said: “We commend the Senate’s decision to cut the 2015 National Assembly budget by 25 per cent (N37.5 billion) from N150 billion to N112.5 billion. This will definitely free up resources to finance other priorities.

    “The increase of the capital budget from N633 billion to N700 billion is good news. However, this figure remains grossly inadequate in the light of the huge infrastructure deficit in the country and the urgent need to build a robust and sustainable non-oil economy.”

    He argued that the Senate’s decision to reduce the recurrent expenditure by N116 billion from N2.61billion to N2.5 trillion is a welcome development. He however, noted that  a more drastic reduction in recurrent budget was desirable.

    He also  endorsed  the position of the Senate on the provision for the contentious Service Wide Vote in the draft 2015 budget.

    According to him, the decision to scrap this provision is salutary in the light of the transparency issues that have marred the Service Wide Vote over the years. LCCI, he said  is in agreement with the Senate that it is better to devolve the responsibilities defined under the Service Wide Vote to the relevant MDAs for ease of tracking and performance measurement, he added.

    Furthermore he  applauded the Senate’s decision to put an end to the duplication in the budgetary provisions for Amnesty Programme and the Ministry of Niger Delta and the decision to consolidate all such activities in the Niger Delta Ministry.

    He said: “It is desirable to streamline all forms of overlap between the MDAs and consider the option of consolidating most of the overlapping activities. This will save the nation a great deal of financial and human resources.”

    The LCCI boss further  noted the reduction of subsidies on petrol by 50 per cent from N200 billion to N100 billion and kerosene subsidy from N91 billion to N45.5 billion.

    Bello demanded a total scrapping of subsidy on petroleum products as there is no rational basis for its retention in the budget, especially in the light of crash in global oil price he stated.

    According to him this  will not only generate tremendous savings for investment in priority sectors such as infrastructures but also provide a great opportunity to liberate the downstream oil sector from the shackles of oppressive regulations and monumental corruption.

    He added that it  would as well pave the way for more robust private sector investment in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

    Finally, he posited that  LCCI hopes that the National Assembly Joint Committee on Appropriation will endorse  the 2015 Draft Budget, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework [MTEF] and the Fiscal Strategy paper [FSP] as proposed.

    He also used the opportunity to urge the Executive arm of government to align itself with the new thinking of the National Assembly on the draft 2015 budget and the underlying assumptions in the larger interest of the Nigerian economy and the welfare of citizens.