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Tag: #Budget2018

  • ‘Budget can’t be ready till March 2018’

    ‘Budget can’t be ready till March 2018’

    The leadership of the House of Representatives has put checks in place, to forestall incidences of padding in the 2018 budget, Chairman House Committee on Media, Abdulrazak Namdas has said.

    The House Spokesman, while having a chat with The Nation on Wednesday said the measure put in place by the Green Chamber is to ensure that the type of controversies witnessed in the past does not recur.

    He said: “You should know that the leadership of the House has put checks in place, like the rule that, no Standing Committee chairman can submit his report to the Appropriation Committee without the signatures of two-thirds of the members of the committee.

    “We have passed the stage of the budget controversy, allegations of padding and stories of the budget getting missing. Some of these were symptoms of the 2016 budget season, we didn’t have such problems with the 2017 budget. ”

    Namdas also hinted that the budget may not get to the President at the time he envisaged, adding that the National Assembly must consider the fine points of the bill and make the necessary adjustment that reflects the realities of the constituencies and the nation in general.

    According to him, the Green Chamber cannot return the document as it was presented.

    His words: “When the president presented his speech on the budget presentation day, he expressed the wish that the budget is approved by January 1st.

    “We are saying that we will work faster since the 2018 Appropriation Bill was brought a little bit earlier, we should also be able to approve the budget a little earlier.

    “But I cannot be specific about a date since we are few weeks to the end of December. This is about twenty sitting days, so if I sit here in the comfort of my office to assure Nigerians that the budget will be passed by 1st of January, you and even them will know it’s not feasible.

    “For the budget process, you should be looking at a minimum of three months. We will deliberate on the basic principles of the budget, it will be committed to committees to work on it, meet with MDA and they now send their report to the Appropriation Committee. All of these processes take time.

    “I think people should be more concerned about the National Assembly and the executive coming up with an implementable budget, rather than focusing on a January date.”

  • Don’t give condition before passing 2018 budget, Mikati tells Senate

    Don’t give condition before passing 2018 budget, Mikati tells Senate

    Reflecting on the 2018 budget presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly, a former governorship aspirant in 2011 election in Kaduna State, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris Mikati has warned the National Assembly (NASS) members not to give condition before approving and passing the budget into law.

    In a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna, Mikati expressed worry over alleged comments by the lawmakers that without a cordial relationship with the executive arm of the government, the budget will not enjoy speedy passage.

    To this end, the former Gubernatorial Aspirant reminded the legislators that it will be to their own advantage if the budget is speedily passed because another general election is around the corner when they will give an account of their stewardship to the electorate.

    He further noted that quick passage of the budget will help the country to progress economically, socially and politically for the betterment of the citizenry.

    He, therefore, urged the legislators to put aside any form of settlement and work for the interest of the nation.

    He said: “The 2018 budget proposal presented on Monday by President Buhari appears to be well articulated as its seek to build on the modest successes achieved by the administration from the implementation of its first budget tagged budget of change and the second budget tagged budget of recovery and growth. The tag given to the 2018 budget being a budget of consolidation is quite apt and appropriate.

    “The challenges of implementation, as well as the passage of the appropriation bill, still persists.

    “One wonders the basis and or rationale of the comments made by the leadership of the National Assembly on somewhat putting a condition on quick passage of the bill to the cordial relationship between the legislature and executive.

    “Consideration of bills from the executive is not a privilege. Its a right and a duty of the legislators.

    “It’s above all in the mutual interest of the executive and the legislative arms of the government, being elected officials who would seek reelection sooner rather than later.

    “Without an appropriation, the much talked about and dividends of democracy would not be provided to the electorates and politicians would thus not have any project to show to the electorates. The legislature has had the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) presented to them months before now.

    “The fundamental assumptions behind the budget are also quite reasonable and realistic except for a few. The proposed oil benchmark price of $45 per barrel is conservative enough but I see the hawks in the National Assembly increasing the benchmark to at least $50 per barrel.

    “The daily crude oil production target 0f 2.3 million barrels per day appear to be too ambitious given the current level of investments in oil exploration and development, government’s inability to provide its portion of funding to oil companies and the issue of OPEC production quotas.

    “It’s gratifying to also note the increment in allocation to key sectors of the economy such as agriculture, education, transport and works and housing.

    “However there is need to look at health sector also because of its strategic importance to the nation. Needless to say that there is the need for improvements in the allocation to education and agriculture given the cardinal principles of the administration and governments commitments such as Malabo Declaration of budgeting at least 10% annually to agriculture and the need to achieve food security.

    “The composition of the estimate as regards capital, recurrent and debts servicing leaves much to be desired. It’s encouraging seeing capital expenditures reaching 30% of the budget but it’s worrisome to note the level of recurrent expenditures and debts servicing.

    “Government must find ways to drastically cut down on waste as well as the entire recurrent expenditure so as to significantly achieve improvements in capital spending.

    “Government must also exercise care and caution on the issue of debts servicing particularly with an increase in the level of both local and external borrowings. Dollar interest rates are set to increase which would hurt us more given our level of exposures now in foreign loans”, he said.

  • 2018 Budget: Lagos lawmakers harp on performance

    2018 Budget: Lagos lawmakers harp on performance

    Some Lagos State lawmakers on Friday said that the effect of the 2018 Budget on the common man was more important than its proposed size of N8.612 trillion.

    The lawmakers, who spoke in interviews with NAN in Lagos, said that the timely presentation of the budget showed that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to enhancing living conditions.

    NAN reports that President Buhari on Tuesday presented an appropriation bill of N8.612 trillion for 2018, saying that the document will deliver on Nigeria’s economic recovery growth.

    The Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Mr Yinka Ogundimu, said that the Federal Government should put measures in place to ensure a successful implementation.

    Ogundimu, representing Agege Constituency II, said that attention should be given to development of non-oil sectors to stabilise the nation’s economy.

    “We have not been having problems with the budget size and allocations; the major problem is returning the budget in time to the executive by the National Assembly as well implementation of the budget.

    “Before we should talk about 2018 Budget estimate, we should be able to look into the performance of the 2017. How far have we gone?

    “What is the percentage of capital expenditure performance to the recurrent? We should look at how the budget has been able to affect the lives of Nigerians.

    “We need to measure the per capital income; Has there been any improvement in the lives of the people from the beginning of the year?’’ the lawmaker asked.

    Ogundimu urged the Federal Government to do more to develop other critical sectors of the economy such as agriculture.

    He advocated establishment of a board to market the nation’s agricultural produce in order to get more local and international markets.

    According to him, the government needs to regulate the prices of agricultural produce to favour farmers.

    He called for timely passage of the budget bill.

    Mr Abiodun Tobun, the Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure, expressed the hope that the budget would enhance the completion of ongoing projects.

    “Looking at the ratio of capital to recurrent, it shows that the Federal Government means well for the people.

    “This Budget of Consolidation means that much of the ongoing projects will be completed in the New Year as the following year, 2019, is an election year.

    “It will be wrong for the Federal Government to start new projects when ongoing projects have not been completed,’’ he told NAN.

    According to him, the Federal Government’s economic recovery plan will enhance infrastructure, attract investors and create jobs.

    Tobun urged Nigerians to be patient with the government.

    Mr Nurudeen-Saka Solaja, representing Ikorodu II, said that the proposed budget was a signal of hope for the citizenry.

    Solaja, the Chairman, House Committee on Science and Technology, also urged Nigerians to be patience with efforts to reposition the country.

  • #Budget2018: What the budget covers

    #Budget2018: What the budget covers

    Budget size: N8.612 trillion (16 % higher than 2017 estimates)

     

    Expenditure Estimates

    The proposed aggregate expenditure of N 8.612 trillion (16 per cent above 2017 budget estimate)

    will comprise

    • Recurrent Costs of N3.494 trillion
    • Debt Service of N2.014 trillion
    • Statutory Transfers of about N456 billion
    • Sinking Fund of N220 billion (to retire maturing bond to local contractors)
    • Capital Expenditure of N2.428 trillion (excluding the capital component of statutory transfers).

     

    Recurrent Expenditure

    A substantial part of the recurrent cost proposal for 2018 is for the payment of salaries and overheads in key ministries providing critical public services such as:

    • N510.87 billion for Interior
    • N435.01 billion for Education
    • N422.43 billion for Defence
    • N269.34 billion for Health

     

    Capital Expenditure

    Key capital spending allocations in the 2018 Budget include:

    • Power, Works and Housing: N555.88 billion
    • Transportation: N263.10 billion
    • Special Intervention Programmes: N150.00 billion
    • Defence: N145.00 billion
    • Agriculture and Rural Development N118.98 billion
    • Water Resources: N95.11 billion
    • Industry, Trade and Investment: N82.92 billion
    • Interior: N63.26 billion
    • Education N61.73 billion
    • Universal Basic Education Commission: N109.06 billion
    • Health: N71.11 billion
    • Federal Capital Territory: N40.30 billion
    • Zonal Intervention Projects N100.00 billion
    • North East Intervention Fund N45.00 billion
    • Niger Delta Ministry: N53.89 billion
    • Niger Delta Development Commission: N71.20 billion.

    Key projects and programmes to be implemented in 2018:

    • N9.8 billion for the Mambilla hydro power project, including N8.5 billion as counterpart

    funding

    • N12 billion counterpart funding for earmarked transmission lines and substations
    • N35.41 billion for the National Housing Programme
    • N10.00 billion for the 2nd Niger Bridge
    • About N300 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of strategic roads

     

    Regional Spending Priorities for Peace, Security and Development

    • N65 billion for the Presidential Amnesty Programme has been retained in the 2018 Budget
    • Capital provision for the Ministry of Niger Delta increased to N53.89 billion from the N34.20 billion provided in 2017
    • Completion of East-West Road, with a provision of about N17.32 billion in 2018

    Read Also:  2018 BUDGET SPEECH: BUDGET OF CONSOLIDATION

  • #Budget2018: ‘Nigerians will be better, happier in 2018’

    #Budget2018: ‘Nigerians will be better, happier in 2018’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), South-East, says the era of abandoned projects contained in budgets and dashed hope of development is over.

    The APC South-East Publicity Secretary, Chief Hycienth Ngwu, stated this in his reaction to the 2018 Budget Presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Buhari presented the N8.612 trillion 2018 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly.

    Ngwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Wednesday that the Federal Government, through the budget presentation, had given assurance of completing all ongoing projects and projects abandoned by past governments.

    “There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians will be better and happier in 2018, if all stakeholders work in synergy with the Executive arm in seeing to the actualization of the estimates as contained in the 2018 Budget of Consolidation as presented by President Buhari.

    “Budget 2018 is a follow up to 2017 budget and aims at consolidating the gains achieved in 2017.

    “The expected 2018 expenditure of N8.612 trillion, to be financed by N1.699 trillion as loans, out of which 50 per cent will come as external borrowing, while more than 50 per cent of the balance from the original estimate will be financed through non-oil revenue, is quite a realistic and a welcome development.

    “This is a clear testimony that Nigeria has exited a mono-product economy.

    “Also, with a pledge to reduce our domestic debt from 79 per cent to 60 per cent and massive injection of about 30.8 per cent of the total funds to finance capital projects, will, in no small measure, lighten the tight liquidity in our economy and make Nigerians happier and better.”

    He also noted that the budget pledged to consolidate on the positive impact of the social intervention programme by maintaining N500 billion funding for it in 2018.

    According to him, civil servants are equally carried along with a total of N260 billion for their overhead costs.

    He further said that with a projected oil price of 45 dollars per barrel and daily oil production at 2.3 million barrels as well as external reserves currently at 34 billion dollars and robust diversification of the economy at an exchange rate of N305 to a dollar, the expected GDP growth of 9 per cent was achievable and sustainable.

    He also commended the plan to work on the Enugu-Port-Harcourt, Enugu-Onitsha and other critical roads in the South East as well as the 2nd Niger Bridge just as it is expected that the Enugu coal mines would benefit from the N300 billion Solid Mineral Development Fund.

    The APC publicity secretary said that what was required most now was good synergy among major stakeholders.

    “Nigeria will be economically stable for the betterment of all people, states and regions of the country.

    “Bureaucratic bottlenecks and official competitions should give way for quick service delivery and harmony,’’ he advised.

    NAN reports that the proposed budget increased by 16 per cent over the 2017 appropriation of N7.298 trillion.

    Buhari said that 30.8 per cent of the budget proposal was as against N3.5 trillion earmarked for recurrent expenditure.

    According to him, N2 trillion of the budget has been set aside for debt servicing.

    The President said that the size of the 2018 budget was a reflection of his administration’s determination to consolidate and sustain the nation’s economic growth. (NAN)