Move Fast and Implement Budget
Six months after it was submitted to it, the National Assembly finally passed the 2019 Federal Budget on Wednesday last week. President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the estimates to both chambers of the assembly on November 7, last year which itself was two months later than expected. Even after it was passed on Wednesday, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said some harmonization work remains to be done between the versions passed by the two chambers. This process should be expedited so that the clean copy should go to the President for his assent this week, if possible.
When he receives the clean copy, the president too should sign the budget with minimum delay. In 2016 and 2017, the president took a long time to sign the budget as passed. His main grouse was that the MPs made alterations to the estimates he submitted. This year too, MPs increased the budget by N508bn. The president proposed N8.612tn but they hiked it to N9.12tn. The MPs however said the increase done with the Executive’s consent. That sounds reasonable because after so much delay, many new realities emerged, including oil prices now hovering near $80 a barrel. Buhari had suggested a benchmark price of $45 but the MPs increased it to $51, still far below prevailing oil prices. The budget also retains a naira/dollar exchange rate of N305/$1 and a daily crude oil production of 2.3 million barrels.
Key components of the budget include N3.515tn for recurrent expenditure; N2.869tn for capital expenditure; N2.2tn for debt service, both domestic and foreign and N190bn as “sinking fund for retiring maturing debts.” This is a N200bn increase over last year’s debt service vote. N530.421bn was voted for statutory transfers.
Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing got the highest allocation of N714.6bn for recurrent and capital expenditure, N682.9bn of it for capital projects. Ministry of Interior was next with a total N576bn. Ministry of Defence followed with N575.6bn, though ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ separately got N78bn. Federal Ministry of Education was next with N541.2bn. According to Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs Abdulrazak Namdas, the increases made by National Assembly went to Power, Works and Housing; Health, Niger Delta, Judiciary and security, plus N15.7bn for 12 new universities and meal subsidy for unity schools.
The most glaring omission in the budget is that it does not include $496m spent on the purchase of 12 Super Tucano aircraft from the United States. Though President Buhari asked the Assembly to include it in the budget, the MPs said it is so large that it warrants a supplementary budget bill. Also missing is a provision for fuel subsidy, which is now over a trillion naira. MPs have rejected the current, shoddy arrangement whereby NNPC imports refined fuel, sells it at a subsidized price and shortchanges the Federation Account in remittances. They want fuel subsidy captured in a supplementary budget, which we fully support.
The delay in passing this budget imperils the capital aspect, which is the driver of economic recovery and progress. The Presidency must drive all agencies and reduce cumbersome procedures so that citizens get maximum benefit from this budget in the six months remaining of this year.
The delay in passing this budget imperils the capital aspect, which is the driver of economic recovery and progress