Presidency’s delay threatens planned Jan-Dec budget cycle • No cause for alarm — Senate • Experts react

The plan to return the country to January to December fiscal calendar is being threatened by the Presidency’s failure to present the 2020 budget proposal to the National Assembly as scheduled, Daily Trust reports.

The leadership of the National Assembly, with the understanding of the executive, had scheduled September for the presentation of the 2020 budget as part of effort to return the country to January to December fiscal calendar.

Daily Trust reports that September ended yesterday, and although the National Assembly sits on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, there would be no plenary today because of the public holiday. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday presented the 20202022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the National Assembly, proposing N9.12tn for the 2020 budget.

The senate had on Thursday, September 26, referred the document to its finance committee for further legislative action.

The leadership of the ninth assembly had months ago unveiled the timetable for the consideration of the 2020 budget.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had said that next year’s budget would be passed before the Christmas break if the budget proposal was presented in September.

At the inauguration of ministers on August 21, the presidency disclosed that the budget would be presented in September.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, stated this in the presence of President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Mustapha said, “You are expected to familiarise yourselves with the permanent secretaries of various ministries, and within this period, set out to work particularly on the budget, and taking cognizance of the fact that we have assured the National Assembly that we are sending the budget immediately they return from the recess.”

The House of Representatives had resumed plenary on September 17, and the senate followed suit on September 24, even as the president has not yet presented the fiscal document.

The senate president had on September 20, said he was aware that the executive was working towards the presentation of the budget by the end of September.

In a statement tagged: “We are Hungry, Thirsty to Receive the 2020 Appropriation Bill”, issued by the senate president’s media aide, Ola Awoniyi, he said the budget would be passed before the Christmas break.

Lawan said, “I am aware that the executive arm of government is working assiduously to ensure that the appropriation bill for the year 2020 is presented to the National Assembly by the end of this month.

“The National Assembly will work so hard to ensure that the 2020 budget is passed before we go on Christmas break.”

Contacted to find out whether they received the document, spokesperson of the senate, Sen. Dayo Adeyeye, said there was no cause for alarm.

Sen. Adeyeye said, “The presentation is not late in any way.

“We just gave notice of our intention to the executive to have a new budget circle that will bring the country to the normal budget circle of January to December.

“If they are able to present it by the middle of next month, it will still be very much in order. If they do by then, they deserve commendation because the ministers were just appointed and the government is about three months into the second term.

“Budget preparation is not an easy process; we have just given them the notice of our desire. We don’t want a hastily prepared budget.”

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola, said transition would happen without negative impact.

Mr. Jaiyeola noted that the government at a certain time used to run December to January budget circle; and then at some point, it moved to from March to April, and added that it was possible to revert to the old system.

He further said, “Since we are running MTEF, we can have both the 2019 and 2020 budgets run concurrently,” adding that the Federal Government did not have to abort any budget.

“We currently roll over budget from one year to another, so it’s the same principle,” adding that, “There should be alignment and coordination.”

Also commenting, Mr. Uju Ugubunka, a one-time Registrar of the Charted Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said, “I believe it will be better to return to January to December budget circle.

“It is easier to follow through and monitor. I don’t foresee any adverse outcome from it. And nothing should make the transition difficult to achieve except human factors, largely attitude related. Training and proper sensitisation can resolve such; and proper planning and effective implementation will be needed to bring the transition to reality.”

Dr. Mustapha Shitu, a lecturer with the Department of Business Administration, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said, “I think the 2020 date is going to be too early because the budget is what government uses to stabilise and influence the economic direction. And when rushed, it means the economy will be grappling to be vibrant.

“There are issues to contend with. The first is the first three processes of the budget cycle: preparation, submission and approval. How can the government handle this in record time that would make the January to December time frame feasible as enshrined in Section 82.1 of the 1999 Constitution?

“The budget is a timeconsuming exercise, especially in a poorly organised environment like ours, where it is subject to many iterations.

“So, I see the 2019 budget being terminated and the impact of such would be severe on capital expenditure, as recurrent expenditure falls within functional activities. This means infrastructural development which is a key enabler for economic growth will be significantly constrained.”

A Professor of Economics at the University of Abuja, David Okoroafor, said jettisoning the 2019 budget might not have any impact on returning the budget to January to December budget cycle if the political will was not there.

Prof. Okoroafor said before now Nigeria’s budget had been from January to December, but that because of issues that bothered on delay in passage, lack of political will on the part of government and “too many unnecessary protocols”, the timeline was distorted.

He said jettisoning the budget was not a bad idea because it was expected that the money that could not be spent would be rolled over into the new budget, adding that “even the recurrent part of the budget will still be paid.”

He further said all the projects that should be done should be reflected in the new budget and implemented.

The professor added that, “The aim is not just to return to the January to December budget cycle, but ensuring that the plan is focused.

“We used to have a five-year rolling plan, but because of the zigzag movement, it is no more effective. We can take up the rolling plan and be judicious in its implementation.

“This is because if we continue to maintain the former movement that does not yield desired result, then we cannot make the desired impact.

“For long, we have had budgets that affected a lot of things from difficulty to plan appropriately to the private sector being dependent on the public sector before they can plan their affairs. So, it has been affecting things, and it makes the country look weak like we repeatedly don’t know what we are doing.”

The Director General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said for the half year of 2019 they had revenue of N2tn and expenditure of N3.3tn.

Mr. Akabueze said, “For 2018, the aggregate revenue collected is about N4tn and the expenditure is about N7.4tn, which included N1.7tn of capital expenditure. For the half year 2019, we have revenue of about N2tn and expenditure of about N3.3tn.”

A Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr. Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, could not provide details on how the Federal Government intends to return to the January to December budget cycle.