The Presidency has
requested the National Assembly to allow it present it to its joint sitting on
Thursday.
If the National Assembly
acceded the request from the Presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari will on
Thursday propose a budget of N7,281,361,611,853 for the year 2017 to the
federal lawmakers.
The proposed budget which
represents an increase of 19.95 per cent over the 2016 Appropriation of N6.07
trillion excludes salary increment which workers have yearned for.
A highly placed Presidency
official confirmed the budget details to InsideBusiness on Tuesday in Abuja,
adding that the government pegged the exchange rate at N305 to a dollar.
Major Highlights of 2017
Budget
* Capital Expenditure
= N2.078 trillion
* Recurrent Expenditure =
N2.9 trillion
* Exchange Rate = N305 to US$1
* Oil Benchmark = $42.5 per barrel (p.b)
* Oil Production Level =
2.2 million per day
The source disclosed that
the 2017 Budget was based on a crude oil benchmark price of $42.5 per barrel
and a production estimate of 2.2 million barrels per day.
In the 2016 Budget, the
crude oil benchmark price was $38 per barrel while production level was 2.2
million barrels per day. The production level however dropped to 1.9 million
barrels per day due to the activities of Niger Delta militants.
“The
2017 Budget is ready and has been considered by the Federal Executive Council
(FEC). A total spending of N7,281,361,611,853 is proposed for 2017.
“Next
year’s budget was also predicated on an exchange rate of N305 to a dollar. The
figure was the prevailing exchange rate as at the time the 2016-19 Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was prepared in August 2016,” the official said.
The source
added, “The President has communicated his readiness and willingness to present
and submit the 2017 Budget to the leadership of the National Assembly on
Thursday, December 8, 2016.
“We are expecting the leadership of the
National Assembly to communicate back to the President by confirming the date
for him to make his presentation to the two houses,” said the official.”
A copy of the
2017 Budget, which was sighted by InsideBusiness, shows that the government
proposed N2.078 trillion as capital expenditure and N2.9 trillion as recurrent
expenditure.
The 2017
capital and recurrent expenditures rose by 15.44 per cent and 9.43 per cent
over the 2016 Appropriation figures of N1.8 trillion and N2.65 trillion
respectively.
InsideBusiness
further confirmed that provision was not made for new minimum wage or salary
increment for government workers in the proposed budget for next year.
The
government, however, retained the social intervention programme of N500
billion in the 2017 Budget.
“I don’t think we should be talking
about salary increment or new minimum wage. What will really assist Nigerians
and the workers are thee social intervention programmes and investments in
infrastructure.
“Most of the government policies are
targeted at reducing unemployment and poverty and wealth creation. These are
areas of benefits for Nigerians and the workers,” the source said.
The
Presidency official however politely declined to give details of the domestic
and foreign borrowings in the 2017 Budget, saying the details would be
provided by the President during the budget presentation.
A senior
officer of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning also confirmed the
budget details to InsideBusiness.
The officer
revealed that President Buhari would launched a new economic recovery and
growth plan for Nigeria before the end of December 2016.
He added that
the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, would be at
the National Assembly on Tuesday (today) to brief the legislators on the new
economic recovery and growth plan.
“This is a long term economic plan for
the nation. It is a more comprehensive economic plan.
“It will position Nigeria on the path
of sustainable growth and development. It is not just about growth; it
encompasses development,” the ministry’s official said.
The source
confirmed that the government had achieved a 75 per cent performance ratio of
the pro-rated budget for January-September 2016, while the recurrent
expenditure had been funded 100 per cent.
The 2016
Appropriation, according to the source, will run till May 2017.
“The 2016 Appropriation has a legal
backing to run for one year from May 2016 when it was assented to by the
President till May 2017,” the source said.
President
Buhari on Friday had on November 25, 2016 warned that his government would not
allowed a repeat of the padding of 2016 Budget in the 2017 Budget.
The President
gave the warning at a meeting with members of the Governance Support Group
(GSG), led by Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The President
said: “I am waiting for the 2017 Budget to be brought to us in Council. Any
sign of padding anywhere, I will remove it.”
The President
noted that he had been in government since 1975, variously as governor, oil
minister, head of state, and Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), “and
never did I hear the word ‘padding’ till the 2016 Budget.”
He promised
that such would never happen again under his watch.
He assured
the government stands by its tripod campaign promises of securing the country,
reviving the economy, and fighting corruption, but lamented that some people
are deliberately turning blind eyes to prevailing realities in the country.
COMPARISON
OF 2016 & 2017 BUDGETS
2017 2016
Total Budget N7.281trn N6.07trn
Recurrent N2.9trn N2.65trn
Capital N2.078trn N1.8trn
Oil Benchmark $42.5 p.b $38 p.b
Exchange Rate N305/$1 N197.5/$1
Social Intervention N500bn
N500bn
Production Level 2.2mbd 2.2mbd
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