Saraki, Dogara give 2017 budget panels tomorrow deadline.

Senate President Bukola Saraki has given the committees deliberating on the 2017 budget proposal a final deadline of tomorrow (Thursday) to submit their reports.

Also at the House of Representatives, Speaker Yakubu Dogara announced Thursday March 30, 2017 as deadline for committees in the House to turn in their reports of 2017 budget to the Committee on Appropriation.

Saraki, who handed down the deadline after a closed-door session of about two hours yesterday, expressed disappointment that over 20 committees are yet to submit report to the Danjuma Goje-led Appropriation Committee.

Making the announcement on the floor of the House, Dogara said there was the need to urgently consider and pass the 2017 Appropriation bill.

He urged committees yet to conclude the scrutiny of the various budgetary sums of the government organs they supervise, to quickly do so and turn in their reports to the committee.

Meanwhile, four members of the House of Representatives: Ahmed Babba Kaita, Karimi Sunday, Eucharia Azodo and Aishatu Jibril Dukku sponsored four separate but related bills aimed at amending the Electoral Act 2010.

The proposed amendment to the Electoral Act to provide for death of a presidential or gubernatorial candidate during an on-going election.”

The bills further seek to provide a time line for the submission of lists of candidates, criteria for substitution of candidates and to empower the commission to uphold party primaries where there is a change in the results and for other related matters.

Sunday (Kogi: Yagba: PDP), whose bill is aimed at averting the Kogi electoral debacle wanted the inclusion of a new sub-section 2 to Section 33 of the Electoral Act by removing the ambiguity or lacuna that may arise as a result of the death of a presidential or gubernatorial candidate after commencement of poll but before conclusion of the said election.

Also, the House of Representatives yesterday passed a motion to stop the commercialization of some key maritime services of the Nigeria Navy (NN).

Adopting a motion moved by Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma at the plenary presided by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the House urged the Ministry of Defence to ensure the directive is carried out with immediate effect.

The lawmakers further resolved to set up an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the arrangement for a business model between the Ministry of Defence, the Nigerian Navy and Shorefac Consortium Ltd and others on the commercialization of the Nigerian Navy .

The Senate yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari, to provide funds to redeem all Federal Government pension indebtedness of about N174billion.

This followed a motion, titled “The untold hardship of pensioners occasioned by government’s failure to contribute its statutory share of 5 per cent to the Pension Redemption Fund,” sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Paulker (PDP Bayelsa Central).

Source: The Guardian

Governor Ahmed Signs 2017 Budget Into Law.

The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has assented to 160.9billion Naira 2017 budget as passed by the Kwara State House of Assembly.

Speaking during the signing ceremony at his office, Governor Ahmed said with the signing of the budget into law, his administration will commence execution of some major capital projects immediately, starting with the new campuses of Kwara State University (KWASU) and all other major projects across the state.

“I want to assure you that as we sign the budget into law, we will hit the ground running.

“In this regard, some major capital projects slated for execution this year will be flagged-off from next week.

“We will start with the campuses of Kwara State University, we are building for Ilorin School of Governance, College of Agriculture in Ilesha-Baruba and of course, the Osi Campus.

“We will also be flagging-off the dual carriage roads and all other projects”, he said.

Ahmed said his government is working round the clock to ensure that funding for the budget is made available through the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for optimal implementation of the appropriation law.

He also said he will uphold adherence to the provisions of the budget, while commending the House of Assembly for its professional approach to legislative function.

Dr. Ahmed said the House will however be approached for supplementary appropriation where the need arises.

Earlier, the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad said the House has passed a budget of 160.9 billion Naira with over 90billion Naira devoted to capital expenditure where all the indices put in place by international organisations are present.

He said it is a budget that will be different from all the budgets earlier passed in the state.

Hon. Ahmad stated that with the injection of significant capital expenditure into the economy, the state will surely move out of recession faster than expected.

It will be recalled that Governor Ahmed presented the 2017 budget estimate of 135,064,529,461 billion Naira to members of the State House of Assembly for consideration and approval on December 29, 2016.

However, the approved budget was increased by the House to 160.9billion Naira, with 90.1billion Naira voted for capital expenditure, while 70.7billion Naira was allocated to recurrent expenditure.

 

Source: Channels TV

Passage of 2017 budget will take Nigeria out of recession – Udoma

Udoma Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, says the federal government is anxious to have the 2017 budget passed so as to begin the process of getting the economy out of recession.

Speaking with state house correspondents at the end of the federal executive council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, Udoma said the 2017 budget will bring an end to Nigeria’s economic recession.

He expressed the government’s determination to get the country out of recession before the end of 2017.

“We are determined to get the economy out of the recession before the end of this year. And the 2017 budget is structured to do just that,” he said.

“So that is why we are anxious to get the budget passed so that we can begin the implementation and begin to take all the steps we need to get the economy out of recession.”

The minister said he briefed the council on the National Bureau of Statistics’ economic recovery growth plan.

“I also informed council of the release of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan which is already on the website of the ministry of budget and National Planning as well as the Budget Office,” he said.

Udoma added that the federal government was committed to making Nigeria’s “economy great again”.

“We are determined by the end of the plan to move from the negative growth that we experienced in 2016 to the growth rate of 7 per cent by 2020,” he said.

 

Source: The Cable

Osinbajo, Saraki, Dogara meet, discuss speedy passage of 2017 budget.

There are expectations that the 2017 Budget would be passed in earnest based on the level of rapport developing between top government officials in the Executive and Legislative arms in the country.

A meeting was held Thursday night between the leadership of the two arms of government at Aso Rock “discussing the Federal Government budget proposals now before the National Assembly,” according to a statement by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s spokesperson, Laolu Akande.

The meeting hosted by the Acting President at his official residence lasted about an hour and was attended by members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Management Team and members of the leadership of both the Senate and House of Representatives including Senate President Bukola Saraki and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

The meeting discussed issues and developments around the 2017 budget, while both sides also exchanged ideas and compared notes in order to ensure that this year’s budget passage process is better and faster than previous times.

During the meeting, held in a convivial atmosphere, there were also discussions on the need to ensure that key projects of the Federal Government aimed at enhancing the speedy recovery of the Nigerian economy are well taken care-of in the appropriations that will now emerge from the legislative arm of government to the Presidency.

The Wednesday night meeting also created the opportunity for both arms of the Nigerian government to work on clearing the grey areas in the budget and arrive at agreements on key and related issues.

 

Source: Premium Times

2017 Budget: We will give maximum support to President Buhari – Dogara

Nigerian lawmakers will give maximum support to President Muhammadu Buhari and ensure that his government is not humiliated in the ongoing deliberations over the 2017 proposed budget, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said Monday.

Mr. Dogara said the National Assembly took this decision because most of its members and Mr. Buhari all belong to the same political party, the All Progressives Congress.

“I must say that the APC as the party with majority in the National Assembly will not allow Mr. President and the APC as the ruling political party to be humiliated or defeated on its budget priorities as we are all part of the same government,” Mr. Dogara said.

He made the comments when he addressed a round-table on the N7.29 trillion budget proposal organised by governors on the platform of the APC in Abuja Monday morning.

The Speaker also noted that lawmakers across political aisles believe that constituency matters are very crucial to their activities as lawmakers.

“It is however, important to stress that on budget matters members of the National Assembly tend to be very sensitive to their constituency representational functions, irrespective of party,” Mr. Dogara said in an apparent reference to the controversial culture of earmarking funds for lawmakers to carry out projects in their respective constituency.

The practice has come under heavy criticism in recent years, and the call for its abolition peaked in the wake of the budget padding scandal that broke out in 2016.

Critics say the so-called constituency projects line items mostly serve as a conduit for lawmakers to syphon public funds into their pockets because they are often poorly executed or, in most cases, never carried out.

Mr. Dogara updated the governors on the progress so far made by the National Assembly in the ongoing debates about the 2017 budget and promised better transparency and accountability in its passage and implementation.

Enugu Government Signs 2017 Budget Into Law.

The Enugu State governor,  Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has signed the 2017 budget estimated at 105.72 billion Naira,  themed budget of Economic Recovery and Inclusive Development into law.

Governor Ugwuanyi commended the Enugu State House of Assembly members for a speedy passage of the budget and promised to fully implement it for the development of the state.

“I wish to express appreciation to the good people of the state for the opportunity to serve and reassure that our promise to deliver good governance and selfless service remain non-negotiable.

“I wish to assure you of our commitments to fully implement this budget so that we can achieve the objectives we have set out for rapid growth of the state.

However, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Edward Ubosi, said that there was no alteration to the budget as it was the size presented by the governor on December 23, 2016.

Mr Ubosi, however, said that the lawmakers juggled some of the entries where they found necessary to make the document more responsive to the yearnings of the state. He said that some ministries and government had unnecessary allocations to themselves but such were moved to other more pressing areas.

“In the course of looking at the budget we made some adjustments in areas we deemed necessary,” for instance the Ministry of Works was allocated two hilux vans, one of such vans was for five million Naira, the other was for 10 million Naira.

He said that the office of the Secretary to the State Government had allocated some money to rent a house “but we found it unnecessary and put the fund to another ministry.

Mr Ubosi appealed to the governor to ensure the full implementation of the budget, adding “the budget is a social contract between you and the people”.

Saraki: No provision for repair of Abuja airport in 2017 budget

Senate President Bukola Saraki says no provision was made  for the repair of the runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,  in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

The airport will be closed for repairs from March 8 to April 19.

The project is expected to gulp N5.8bn.

According to a statement issued by Bamikole Omisore, Saraki’s media aide, the senate president said this on Friday while speaking with Sani Bello, Niger state governor.

He said the non-completion of the Minna airport re-modelling project had left the federal government with no option or backup, but to the divert flights to Kaduna.

“It makes a lot of sense to have an option. It is the lack of option that brings us to where we are that we cannot make a good choice,” he said.

“No provision was made, in either the 2016 or 2017 budget, for the rehabilitation of the Abuja airport runaway… one will be wondering how such kind of decisions are arrived at.”

He assured the governor that provision for funding would be made for the completion of the abandoned dualisation of  Suleja-Minna road.

Public hearing on 2017 budget commences Monday – HOR Spokesperson

Abdulrazak Namdas, spokesman of the house of representatives, says the lower legislative chamber will hold a public hearing on the 2017 budget between Monday and Wednesday.

Speaking with journalists on Friday, Namdas said the 59 stakeholders had been invited to contribute their views to the budget process.

“By Monday, we are going to have what we call the national budget hearing – a public hearing on the budget. The aim is to make the budget all inclusive for all Nigerians,” he said.

“So far we have written to 59 stakeholders to submit their memorandum and its includes the NLC, TUC, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Bar Association and several others.

“This is to keep to the promise that for the first time we are going to have a public hearing on the budget. People will be able to provide their opinions and at the end we will have a budget.”

He also refuted reports that national assembly merged some other organisations with the Nigerian peace corps.

“One thing I want to clarify again is that we don’t have any bill known as national unity and peace corps,” he said.

“However, there is a clause that provided that people of great interest, common interest should be accommodated. We will like to quote that particular clause.

“Groups or associations that have similar objectives and have shown or are interested shall be absolved as members of the Nigerian peace corps, subject to be mandatory limited training structure and teaching programme as prescribed from time to time upon the commencement of this act.

“So the national assembly did not merge any organisation with the peace corps.”

He added that 17 out of the 18 bills, which President Muhammadu Buhari had signed so far, came from the house of representatives.

“The national assembly is working and the president is working,” he said.

Osinbajo meets Saraki, Dogara, others over 2017 budget

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with the National Assembly leadership in continuation of consultations between the executive and legislative arms of government over the 2017 budget.

The meeting, held behind closed doors of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and some cabinet ministers in attendance.

Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, the Senate President said they discussed issues relating to the nation’s economy, including the 2017 budget proposal before the National Assembly.

According to him, the National Assembly had so far not encountered any problems with the 2017 budget.
“We were meeting on the economy and the budget: the Vice-President, the Speaker, ministers of budget, finance and I. We are aware that the economic team would soon be going on road shows and this meeting was just to brief us and let us know the issues and carry us along. We have started the budget scrutiny, so there are no issues. These are just consultations,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Basic Education yesterday took the management of the Nigeria Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) to task over high overhead cost of the agency in the 2017 budget proposal.

The NERDC Executive Secretary, Professor Ismail Junaid had in his defence of the 2017 budget of the research council before the committee disclosed that N244million was proposed for overhead cost aside major recurrent expenditure to cover salaries and emolument of staffers of the agency.

The committee, however, felt uncomfortable with the proposal more so, when it discovered that out of the figure, a whopping N30million was budgeted for security services, N15 million for fumigation, N19 million for powering of generator among others.

Senator Binta Garuba Marshi (APC Adamawa North) wondered why overhead cost of such an agency would be far more than half of its capital vote of N377million.

CNN: Trump will need more than ‘Nigeria’s 2017 budget’ to build wall in Mexico

President Donald Trump will need a little more than $25 billion – about the size of Nigeria’s 2017 budget – to build his much touted wall across the US-Mexico border.

The wall, which is projected by CNNMoney to be at least 1,300 miles long, 40 feet high, and containing 19 million tons of concrete, is expected to be more than double the price proclaimed by Trump during his campaign.

The taller portions of the existing fence between the populated sections of the US-Mexico border cost an average of $3.9 million per mile, according to the government accountability office.

Bernstein Research, which tracks materials costs in the US, suggest there are enough uncertainties to drive the cost up to $15 billion, and possibly as much as $25 billion.

The estimate does not include the cost of acquiring the land where the wall will be built, which is estimated  to cost a fortune.

In context, Nigeria’s 2017 budget is $25.99 billion or N7.298 trillion  the biggest budget in naira terms in the country’s 56-year history.

With the cost of land acquisition added to the estimated cost, Trump will need more than $25.99 billion to successfully erect a wall between the US and Mexico.

Trump has repeatedly said Mexico will be paying for the wall, which the country has refused.

Enrique Nieto, the Mexican president, made a cancellation of his proposed trip to Washington on January 31.

He was to meet with Trump, but the US leader said he should stay put in Mexico, if his country not willing to pay for the wall.

“The US has a 60 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico. It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA with massive numbers of jobs and companies lost,” Trump said.

“If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”

Senators pick holes in 2017 budget, set to conclude scrutiny today.

The 2017 N7.29 trillion budget proposal was subjected to critical scrutiny at the Senate yesterday with senators picking holes in several sectorial allocations. Some lawmakers maintained that Federal Government’s plan to diversify the economy did not get the desired attention in the budget.

Many senators also observed that it might be impossible for government to get the projected borrowing to fund the budget, stating that similar 2016 projections were not realised.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided over the debate, disclosed that the budget scrutiny would be concluded today and it would be committed to the Appropriation Committee.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Lanre Tejuoso (APC, Ogun Central), lamented that 11 million Nigerian children have not been fully developed due to inadequate funds to the health sector.

Aliyu Wammako said the budget failed to adequately address the issue of diversification of the economy. “We have agriculture and solid mineral sectors. They have not been addressed well.”

Dino Melaye described Buhari’s government as visionless. “The government of Shehu Shagari built estates in all the states. Sani Abacha developed the Vision 2010. Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan all had their agenda. What is the agenda of this current government? We need to define one.”

John Enoh from Cross River State urged the president to sustain the ongoing peace efforts in the Niger Delta region if enough funds must be generated from oil to fund the budget.

Deputy Minority Whip, Biodun Olujimi, said the budget failed to address how the country will be taken out of its current economic recession.

Solomon Adeola from Lagos State queried the non-disclosure of excess money realised from the sale of crude oil. He said since the 2016 budget was predicated on an oil benchmark of $38, the government needs to tell Nigerians how much it had realised from the excess money made.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Albert Bassey Akpan, decried the borrowing plan of the Federal Government and disclosed that the deficit in the budget is the same as the amount budgeted for capital projects.

Gbenga Ashafa (APC, Lagos State) urged his colleagues to examine the performance of the 2016 budget before they give nod to the passage of the 2017 budget.

2017 budget debate: Reps hail Buhari’s estimates, say it ’ll reboot economy.

MAJORITY of themembers of the House of Representatives, yesterday, hailed the 2017 N7.3 trillion budget estimate of President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as the catalyst that will reboot the Nigerian economy.

 

Also the Senate has begun debate on the general principles of the 2017 Appropriations Bill submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari. Majority Leader of the House, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere federal constituency, Lagos), who led the debate, conceded that the budget was an ambitious one, adding that the ambition is precursor to the success.

 

He presented the highlights of the budget to include oil production projection of 2.2 million barrels per day, with benchmark of $42.5 per barrel, and exchange rate of N305/US$1.

 

Buhari, Osinbajo and Adeosun Other key assumptions of the budget include a revenue projection of N4.94 trillion, with N1.98 trillion expected from oil revenue and N1.37 trillion non oil revenue, while expenditure include N419 billion for statutory transfers, N1.66 trillion for debt servicing, N177 billion to a sinking fund for retirement of maturing bonds, N2.98 trillion to non debt recurring expenditure and N2.24 trillion to capital expenditure . Gbajabiamila added that the budget deficit for the budget was N2.36 trillion and to finance the deficit, government proposes to borrow N1.06 trillion from external sources and N1.25 trillion domestic borrowing.

 

“Prior to this time, capital allocation in our yearly budget was way below 30 percent and now this administration has raised it to over 30 percent. Before now, budget performance has been about 30 percent but somehow with little resources available, this administration hovers around the mid 50s range in terms of budget performance,” he said.

 

He added that while the administration targets better budget performance, it has been able to achieve the current rate by blocking leakages, broadening tax base and collection, and eliminated ghost workers.

 

A few, however, criticised the non-release of fund to Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, MDAs, hinging their argument on the fact that 2016 budget performance was rather poor. MrJerry Alagboso (PDP, Imo), had argued during the debate that “this 2017 budget is almost like that of last year which was associated with poor releases of funds to MDAs.”

 

He urged lawmakers to take oversight functions seriously as this will make the executive and “they should remember that we have the constitutional right to make inputs into the estimates which some people call padding.” Several lawmakers simply praised the budget proposal but a few argued against it. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) argued that the exchange rate of N305 to the dollar was unrealistic, going by MTEF.

 

Backed by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Gbajabiamila raised a point of order to the effect that MTEF has already been passed. Mark Terseer Gbillah (APC, Benue) however, argued that the exact exchange rate remains undetermined. Senate begins debate on principles of 2017 budget THE Senate has begun debate on the general principles of the 2017 Appropriations Bill submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

The commencement of debate on the budget, yesterday, was sequel to the passage of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, MTEF and FSP last week by the National Assembly.

 

In his remarks, Senate President, Bukola Saraki who presided over the plenary explained to the Senators the procedure of debate on the bill where 30 senators have been selected to speak during the consideration of the bill. Also yesterday, the Senate referred President Buhari’s request on the confirmation of the nomination of Mr. Aghatise Erediauwa for re-appointment as Executive Director of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, to the Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions for further legislative input.

 

Leading the debate on the principles of the budget, Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan presented a Bill for an Act to authorize the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation – Total sum of N7,298,507,709,937 with Statutory Transfers of N419,020,684,000, Debt Servicing of N1,663,885,430,499, Sinking Fund for Maturing Bonds: N177,460,296,707, Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure: N2,979,151,756,196 and Contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure: N2,058,989,578,536.

 

Senator Lawan, who noted that the budget was designed to stimulate and attract private sector capital and spending, however, stressed that the 2017 budget was to take Nigeria out of recession, create sustainable, inclusive growth and prosperity for all Nigerians in line with the change agenda of this present administration.

 

Source: Vanguard

Gbajabiamila promises speedy passage of 2017 Budget

Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, on Sunday said that the nation’s lawmakers would work toward speedy passage of the 2017 budget, but would not sacrifice thoroughness in doing so.

Gbajabiamila spoke with newsmen in Lagos on the occasion of his constituency’s celebration of the New Year baby at the Maternal and Child Care Hospital, Surulere.

He also donated gift items to children with health challenges at the Heart of Gold Children’s Hospice, also in Surulere, to mark the New Year.

”It’s unfortunate that the budget was presented late. I have always been an advocate that budget be presented in September or first week in October as done in advanced democracy.

”You don’t present the budget late in December and expect quick passage. The financial year is supposed to start by Dec. 31 or Jan.1.

”We cannot sacrifice thoroughness and good work on the altar of time, we still need to do our work; we will ensure we fast track the passage in the shortest possible time.

”When we go back to the house, we will double and triple all efforts and make sure that this budget is passed on time,” he said.

Gbajabiamila said that hopefully, the budget would revive the country’s economy and make life better for Nigerians.

”The good thing is that the budget year has been extended to March and there are safeguards in the constitution that provide that when the budget has not been passed during a certain period, there are certain things that can be done to keep the government running.

”But the budget will be passed soon and like it has been tagged -‘Budget of Recovery and Growth’, hopefully, that is what we will see in 2017,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari on Dec. 14, 2016 in Abuja, presented a budget proposal of N7.30 trillion for 2017 before a joint session of the National Assembly.

Kogi governor presents N174.9 billion budget for 2017

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Thursday presented an Appropriation Bill of N174.9 billion to the state House of Assembly for deliberation and approval for the 2017 fiscal year.

Presenting the budget on the floor of the House at a special session in Lokoja, Mr. Bello said the budget was made up of N58.5 billion (33.47 per cent) Recurrent Expenditure and N116.3 (66.53 per cent) Capital Expenditure.

He said the total budget package for 2017 tagged; “’Budget of New Direction’’’ was N74.8 billion or (74.8 per cent) above the N99.998 billion appropriated for 2016.

The governor said the budget was based on estimated recurrent revenue of N81.666 billion and estimated Capital Receipt of N93:185 making up the N174.851 billion.

The estimated revenue of N81.666 billion according to him consists of N32.181 billion from internal sources; N35.3 billion as the state’s share from the Federation Account; N8.08 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT), N2.2 billion from Exchange Differentials and N3.8 billion from Budget Augmentation.

The estimated capital receipt of N93.185, he explained, comprised N63.185 billion Capital Receipt analysis by economic and N30 billion as aid and grants.

Mr. Bello said the 2017 budget was prepared in line with Domesticated National Chart of Account, Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Muti-Year Budget Framework (MYBF) which outlined key initiatives, assumptions and expected achievements of MDAs.

The governor described the budget as a balanced one as “Our total estimated revenue (Recurrent revenue and capital receipts) and our total estimated expenditure (Recurrent and capital) stand at N174, 851,544,523.’’

Mr. Bello noted that the specific fiscal objective of his administration and the state was effective allocation of scarce resources to identified critical programmes and objectives.

Earlier, Speaker of the House, Umar Imam, said the house would strive through its committees to give the budget accelerated consideration to ensure the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

Lists of projects targeted at Ikorodu residents captured in Ambode’s 2017 Budget

Lagosians were taken by surprise on November 29, 2016, when Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode announced his mind-boggling N813BN 2017 budget for the state – the largest budget ever proposed by a single state in Nigeria’s history.

 

The budget tagged as ‘The Golden Jubilee Budget’ – coinciding with Lagos state’s 50th anniversary – is over 150billion Naira more than that of 2016 and has been distributed equitably across several sectors including Education, Health and – of course – Transport, with Health sector getting the ‘Lion share.’

 

However grandiose the budget might appear, it leaves in mind a question of whether in Ambode’s pursuit to urbanize Lagos state, pressing issues on the grassroots level will receive any attention.

 

Shortly after Ambode proposed the budget to the Lagos House of Assembly, Honorable Sanai O. Agunbiade, representative for Ikorodu constituency, carved out from the budget the provision made specifically for the people Ikorodu.

 

In a document titled ‘Highlights of Ikorodu’s gains in the 2017 budget as presented by Gov. Ambode,’ he listed six (6) communal projects the budget proposes to embark on in Ikorodu.

  1. Agric-Isawo-Owotu-Arepo Road in Ikorodu
  2. Igbe-Igbogbo Phase II- Bola Tinubu Way in Ikorodu.
  3. Ikorodu-Agbowa-Itoikin-Ijebu Ode Road Project in Ikorodu axis
  4. 114 Local Government Roads project
  5. The Fourth Mainland Bridge in 2017
  6. Art theatre in Ikorodu with a 400-seater hall

Although Ambode laid emphasis on projects in the Health sector saying it will receive the ‘lion share’ of the budget, no project in that regard has been made known.

 

More importantly, Hon. Agunbiade also promised his constituents that the much awaited Ikorodu Stadium would be ‘physically and financially ignited in year 2017.’

 

Depending on how you look at the Golden Jubilee Budget, Ambode’s effort is either history in the making – or a disaster waiting to happen.

FG to use N250b from recovered loot to fund 2017 budget – Minister

The National Budget Office says it is projecting using N250 billion out of funds recovered from corrupt officials to finance the 2017 budget.

 

Ben Akabueze, director-general of the office, disclosed this while fielding questions from reporters at the presidential villa in Abuja, on Monday.

 

Akabueze said N72 billion of the money had already been recovered.

 

“We are projecting N258.6 billion looted funds to be part of the revenue to finance 2017 budget,” he said.

 

“Also to be included in budget financing is $320 million, which is N97.6 billion recovered the loot of Sani Abacha expected from Swiss government.

 

“The balance of N90 billion will be from other expected recovery loot which are now at advance stages.”

 

Udoma Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, said based on the key assumption and budgetary reform initiatives, the 2017 budget envisaged a total federal government revenue of N4.94 trillion.

 

He said the figure exceeded the 2016 financial year projection by 28 per cent.

 

“The projected revenue receipt from oil is N1.985 trillion and non-oil, N1.373 trillion,” he said.

 

“The contribution of oil revenue is 40.2 per cent compared to 19 per cent financial year of 2016 in addition to cost reduction, higher price, exchange rate and additional oil related revenues.”

2017 Budget: FG Targets N565bn From Recovered Loot, MTN Fine

The Federal Government hopes to raise a total of N565bn from recovered loot and fines to be paid by MTN Nigeria to fund the 2017 budget.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, explained on Monday in Abuja during the public presentation of the 2017 budget breakdown that the disruptions to oil production and falling crude prices had made it impossible for the government to meet majority of its revenue projections.

The event was attended by the ministers of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole; Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh; Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; and Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, among others.

Providing useful insights into how the looted funds would be recovered and used, the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said that N288.6bn out of the N565bn would come from recovered looted funds.

He said, “With respect to the looted funds for the revenue profile in the 2017 budget, it is a total of N288.6bn. This includes N97.6bn, which is the naira equivalent of $320m expected from the Swiss (government), which is part of what was recovered from the Abacha loot.

“It also includes N72bn that has already been received in cash from cases of recoveries and the balance of N90bn is from other expected recoveries, which are at an advanced stage and we feel comfortable and confident that they will come through in 2017 and have to be reflected in the budget.”

The Nigerian Communications Commission had in October 2015 fined MTN N1.04tn for selling over five million unregistered SIM cards.

The fine was later reduced to N330bn, out of which MTN has paid N50bn to the government. The balance of N280bn will be paid in six tranches over a period of three years.

The persistent attacks on oil installations by militants in the Niger Delta and the harsh operating climate resulting in low tax receipts from companies, according to Udoma, dealt a huge blow on the government’s revenue in the first nine months of this year.

Read More: punchng

Governor Obaseki presents N150b 2017 budget of consolidation and prosperity.

Governor Godwin Obaseki has presented a budget of 150 billion appropriation bill to the State House of Assembly to fast track economic and social transformation of the state.

 

Governor Obaseki, who christened the 2017 budget as “Budget of Consolidation and Prosperity” said it was wrapped around the six key policy areas. “Mr Speaker, we have proposed a budget size of N150,011,831,079 Billion which is a nominal 29% increase over 2016 budget estimates made up of N74,900,297,917 as Recurrent Expenditure and N75,111,533,162 as Capital Expenditure. “The revenue estimates are based on a $42.0 benchmark for crude oil and average daily production of 1.9mil barrels per day and expectations of improved performance of Internally Generated Revenue.

 

“Hence we will maintain a balance of capital to recurrent expenditure (50%: 50%) in line with our plan to spend our way out of recession The governor, said “this Budget would have a deficit of N25 Billion for 2017 which is within the acceptable threshold. “The deficit will be funded mainly by external borrowing from the third tranche of the World Bank budget support facility.

 

He named the six key policy areas of the 2017 budget to include Economic Revolution, Healthcare services, Infrastructure development, Institutional Reforms, Environmental sustainabilty, social welfare enhancement and Culture and tourism. Governor Obaseki, while reviewing the 2016 budget, noted that “the crises we face today are not insurmountable, with focussed planning, discipline and faith in God, we can “develop a modern and progressive Edo State, where every citizen is empowered with opportunity to live life in its fullness”.

 

“I am honoured to present to you today christened “Consolidation and prosperity”. According to him, “the policy directions of this budget are largely informed by my interactions with Edo people during my campaign which was validated in a strategy dialogue comprising political, religious and traditional leaders, professionals, civil society, women and youth groups.

 

“The policy bedrock of the 2017 budget rests on Economic Revolution, Infrastructural Expansion, Institutional Reform, Social Welfare Enhancement, Culture & Tourism and Environmental Sustainability. “These are the pillars which – if pursued with uncommon focus, will help us build a new society, create new jobs, new opportunities and wealth – and usher in a new era of prosperity for all. The Governor, in his review of the budget proposal, sets aside N7.5billion for investment;N22.2billion for economic sector; N22.3billion for infrastructure, development and upgrade; N3.2 billion for pension scheme; N6.05billion for outstanding grauitities and pension and N6.6 billion to rebuild infrastructure of institutions in 2017.

 

Governor Obaseki said “this Budget of Consolidation and prosperity clearly outlines our first priorities and serves as our compass to the future we seek. He said “building this new society for Edo State will depend on the timely implementation of reforms to further boost business climate, attract private investment, improve our social welfare and foster needed development.

 

“Therefore, the timely passage of this budget is crucial,’’ saying that “Edo State must become the standard bearer of progress in Nigeria. “We must lead the nation in social and economic progress. We will be unrelenting in our pursuit of a cleaner, greener and digital Edo.

 

“In this task, our government will shun all acts of corruption. We shall hold all accountable and will aggressively ensure justice is meted to offenders.’’ Obaseki, in his presentation assured the honourable members saying that “I remain confident that we would continue to enjoy a harmonious working relationship in the interest of our dear State and to the glory of God, our Maker”.

Mixed reactions trail 2017 education budget

Mixed reactions trail the 2017 education budget presented on Wednesday by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly.

Ike Onyechere, the Chairman Exam Ethics Marshal International (EEMI), an NGO, expressed dissatisfaction over the rating of education in the budget.

Mr. Onyechere said that education should be top priority of the budget, describing the place ascribed to the sector as unfair.

“The budgets is not fair to education at all; it shows that the role of education in terms of rejuvenating the economy has not been recognised and appreciated.

“Else, education should have topped the list. I expected that by now major efforts should be made in investing in the sector.

“When we talk about building infrastructure, there are no well-equipped laboratories in our schools to properly train our graduates, a massive Marshal intervention is absolutely needed in the sector.”

He added that most graduates were incompetent because they are products of the country’s collapsed education system.

He explained that if education was given its appropriate place in the nation’s development plan, the country’s technicians and engineers would be well trained and that there would be no need to employ foreign technicians.

“If our education is not right, our products will not be right because of the standard we put into it.

“Education should be placed at the same level with infrastructure because it is the products of our education that will build the needed infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, Hamzat Lawal, the Chief Executive Officer Connected Development, CODE, an NGO, extolled the increase in capital expenditure in education from N37 billion in 2016 to N50 billion in 2017.

Mr. Lawal, however, noted that increased expenditure does not directly lead to improved performance and service delivery.

According to him, there are several key reforms required in the education sector for such increased expenditure to work.

He noted that transparency and accountability in implementation was crucial.

Mr. Lawal said that citizens engagement, which, he said was currently lacking in the polity, was also important in implementation.

He said that CODE while recently tracking governmental spending of 2016 capital funds in education in rural communities, observed that most capital items were still at their contracting stage.

He, however, called for a strong regime to reconcile the 2016 spill over and 2017 budget implementation.

“We ask for transparency and accountability in the implementation of the 2017 education appropriation, also increased citizen engagement, so that rural community stakeholders can track the implementation on their own.

“As we get further understanding on the 2017 budget, we are deploying mechanisms to track portions of the education appropriation in poor communities,” Mr. Lawal said.

Also commenting, Shittu Obasa, a public servant and parent, expressed disappointment with the education budget.

Mr. Obasa said that reports of over 10 million out-of-school children in the country should be of concern to the government and as such ensure adequate funding of the sector.

“Education is the pivot of development and any attempt to make it look like a sector that should not be given due attention is rather unfortunate.

“Every segment of the society must be educated and have a right to education.

“We have over 10 million out-of-school children.

“With this kind of allocation given to education, it does not speak well of the government of the day in its commitment to advance the cause of human capital development,” Mr. Obasa said.

Nasarawa governor presents N67 billion budget

Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Thursday presented an Appropriation Bill of N67.013 billion for 2017 to the state House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

Mr. Al-Makura, while presenting the bill christened “Budget of Reformation’’ at the floor of the state assembly in Lafia, said the budget was in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS).

According to Mr. Al-Makura, N37.012 billion, representing 55.2 per cent of the budget is for recurrent expenditure while N30 billion, representing 44.7 per cent is earmarked as capital expenditure for 2017 fiscal year.

He said the budget represented a decrease of N13.9 billion against the 2016 budget of N80.9 billion due to the current economic recession.

The governor said the State Government decided to streamline the 2017 estimates along more realistic, pragmatic and achievable targets.

“This is due to the fluctuating Statutory Revenue Allocation (SRA) from the Federation Account and poor Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) occasioned by the economic recession,” he said.

He said the budget would focus on completion of projects aimed at boosting welfare of citizens and stimulate the economy out of recession.

Mr. Al-Makura said the budget would also be geared towards encouraging youth in agricultural production as a way of empowerment, boosting production, developing value chain and strengthening commercial venture for stable economy.

“The onus of moving out of this recession lies with all of us. The task ahead is no doubt Herculean and challenging but with collective determination, we would weather the storm,” Mr. Al-Makura said.

The Speaker of state assembly, Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, commended the state government on the performance of the 2016 budget.

He said the assembly pegged it at 70 per cent through their oversight functions, in spite of the economic recession.

He assured the people of the state that the assembly will live up to their expectation by studying the appropriation bill meticulously and pass it expeditiously.

N7.3trn 2017 budget‘ll end recession – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday presented to the National Assembly, an aggregate budget revenue profile of N7.298 trillion for the 2017 fiscal year, which is about 20.4% increase over the N6.06 trillion 2016 budget estimates.

The occasion was also one which provided the President an avenue to reel out his scorecard on the performance of the 2016 budget, which according to him, had attained 59% implementation; representing N3.58 trillion out of the N6.08 trillion budgeted, as at September ending.

He pointed out that the 2017 budget, tagged “Budget of Recovery and Growth”, was higher than the 2016 Appropriation by about 19.95 per cent.

Buhari said the implementation of the 2016 Budget was hampered by the low oil prices in the first quarter of the year, and disruptions in crude oil production which led to significant shortfalls in projected revenue.

It would be recalled that there had been various attacks by the Niger Delta Avengers and other groups in the oil producing region that reduced the country’s oil production by about 50 per cent.

He said this also negatively affected revenue collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

He, therefore, assured that 30.7% of the 2017 appropriation bill will be capital in line with the determination of federal government to reflate and pull the economy out of recession as quickly as possible.

Parameters of the expenditure are predicated on oil price benchmark of $42.5, oil production rate of 2.2million barrel per day and exchange rate of N305 to a US dollar.

This is against the N290 to a US dollar earlier proposed in the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Frame work (MTEF) forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly for approval in October this year.

A breakdown of the budget proposals as submitted by the President shows that N419.02 billion was earmarked for statutory transfers, N1.66 trillion for debt servicing, N177.46 billion as sinking fund.

Others are N2.98 trillion for non-debt re-current expenditure, N2.24 trillion for capital expenditure including capital in statutory transfers.

Sectoral allocations of the budget show that in capital votes, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing got the lion share of N529 billion, followed by Ministry of Transportation which has N262 billion, Ministry of Interior, N150 billion, Ministry of Defence N140 billion among others.

Specifically, the President remarked that in line with his administration’s commitment to an independent and efficient Judiciary, 2017 budgetary provisions for the third arm of government has been increased from N70 billion it was last year to N100billion.

Buhari added that aggregate revenue available to fund the federal budget is N4.94 trillion which is 28% higher than 2016 full year projections.

Oil, according to him, is projected to contribute N1.985 trillion of the N4.94trillion , while non oil revenues, largely comprising Companies Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Customs and Excise duties, and Federation Account levies are estimated to contribute N1.373 trillion.

“We have set a more realistic projection of N807.57 billion for Independent Revenues, while we have projected receipts of N565.1 billion from various Recoveries. Other revenue sources, including mining, amount to N210.9 billion”, he said.

President Buhari further told the lawmakers that the 2017 budget has a deficit plan of N2.36 trillion which is about 2.18% of GDP and to be financed mainly by borrowing, projected to be about N2.32 trillion.

“Our intention is to source N1.067 trillion or about 46% of this borrowing from external sources while, N1.254 trillion will be borrowed from the domestic market”, he explained.

But in the votes for recurrent expenditure, the Ministry of Interior has the largest allocation of N482.7billion, followed by the Ministry of Education which has N390billion, Defence N325billion, and Health N252billion etc.

Also, President Buhari assured Nigerians that his administration was determined to ensure a departure from dependence on imported goods to locally made products.

He promised to ensure a new era where Nigerians consumed locally made products, saying “for many years we depended on oil for foreign exchange revenues. In the days of high oil prices, we did not save, we squandered.

“We wasted our large foreign exchange reserves to import nearly everything we consume. Our food, our clothing, our manufacturing inputs, our fuel and much more. In the past 18 months when we experienced low oil prices, we saw our foreign exchange earnings cut by about 60 per cent.

“Also, our reserves eroded and our consumption declined as we could not import to meet our needs. By importing nearly everything, we provide jobs for young men and women in the countries that produce what we import, while our own young people wander around jobless.

“By preferring imported goods, we ensure steady jobs for the nationals of other countries while our own farmers, manufacturers, engineers and marketers remain jobless.”

“We will CHANGE our habits and we will CHANGE Nigeria,’’ he said.

Earlier in his earlier remarks, the Senate President Bukola Saraki, said budget estimates from the executive no matter how beautifully drafted, remains a proposal that can be tampered with by the legislature in line with constitutional provisions.

He added that whatever approval made by the legislature on the budgetary provisions, should be well implemented by the executive to arrest the hunger in the land.

And moving the vote of thanks, Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, described as frustrating, the repeated experience of poor implementation of the nation’s annual budget.

According to him, “….an Appropriation Act must be allowed to run for an uninterrupted period of twelve months, for the Executive to have enough time to execute it. This means that both Mr. President and the National Assembly must find a way to continue the execution of the 2016 Budget, especially the capital component till May 6, 2017, which is twelve months from the date Mr. President signed the 2016 Appropriation Bill.”

He asked the President to be ‘creative’ in ensuring the workability of the budget to achieve the desired result, assuring that the federal legislature cannot and would not be an obstacle to proper budget implementation.

UPDATE: Buhari shifts budget presentation at NASS to 2.00pm

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday failed to keep to the time he had scheduled for the presentation of the 2017 budget to the national assembly.

In a letter to the senate read by Bukola Saraki last Tuesday, the president had said he would present the budget to a joint session of the national assembly at 10 am on Wednesday.

However, the national assembly has now announced that event will now hold at 2pm

Buhari had said that he would use the occasion to speak on his plans to get the  economy out of recession. But as of 10am on Wednesday, he was not at the national assembly.

On Monday, he travelled to The Gambia to mediate in the political impasse in the country, and he was expected to return on Tuesday.

TheCable understands that some principal officers of the national assembly were already on the ground waiting for the president.

A senior national assembly official who spoke to TheCable said some principal officers were already at the national assembly as of 8am.

“Really, we wonder what the priority of the president is? This is like a disregard for the legislature,” he said.

A fortnight ago, the federal? executive council (FEC) approved the 2017 budget, which is estimated to be N7.02trn. The 2016 budget is N6.08trn.

Next year’s budget is predicated on an? oil benchmark of $42.5 per barrel.

National Assembly in lockdown as Buhari presents budget today

In readiness for the budget presentation of budget by President Muhammadu Buhari today, Wednesday the National Assembly has been put under security lockdown hence difficult to enter.
The security agents at all the three entry gates closed the gates hence restricting movement of people and staff into the complex. Also long queues of vehicles and crowds of people could be seen at all the gates.

Nigeria To Allocate New Oil Licenses To Fund 2017 Budget

The Federal Government will issue new oil licences as part of efforts to explore new streams of revenues to fund the 2017 budget, an official has said.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, stated this when he appeared before the Senate Joint Committee on Appropriation and Finance to defend the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

He said the Federal Government would also review the current joint venture arrangements with oil companies, marginal oil fields as well as mount pressure on revenue generating agencies to surpass expected targets.

Mr. Udoma said a total of N10 trillion was being targeted by the Federal Government as revenue for the 2017 fiscal year.

According to him, out of this amount, about N5 trillion is expected to be generated from the sale of crude oil.

“Non-oil revenues will rake in about N5.06 trillion.

“These revenues are expected to come from corporate and company taxes, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Stamp Duties, capital gains tax and value added tax.

“Others are Customs, excise, fees, surcharges on luxury items, special levies and Federal Government independent revenue,” he said.

Read More:

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/217833-nigeria-allocate-new-oil-licenses-fund-2017-budget.html

READ: El-Rufai’s speech at the signing of Kaduna State 2017 budget.

Remarks by Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, at the signing of the 2017 State Budget at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, on Tuesday, 13th December 201.

 

PROTOCOLS

 

It is with utmost delight that I welcome you to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House this morning. Our purpose today is to sign the 2017 Budget that was passed by the Kaduna State House of Assembly on 1st December 2016. It is worth noting that our legislature is the first to pass an appropriation bill into law for the next fiscal year.

 

This feat is the product of hard and diligent policy work, and cooperation across the government. We signed the 2016 Budget on 22 December 2015. We have done better this year by presenting our draft estimates on 12th October and getting the 2017 Budget passed and signed faster. I hope that this marks the institutionalization in Kaduna State of a disciplined budget process that aligns the fiscal and calendar years.

 

The 2017 Budget size is N214.921bn, made up of N83.46bn in recurrent spending and N131.45bn in capital expenditure. This is a capital to recurrent ratio of 61:39. This budget is deliberately structured to be expansionary, rising from the N172bn approved for 2016, precisely because we need to increase spending in a recession.

 

The budget retains our commitment to pro-poor programmes that directly address our commitment to improving access to education, healthcare, infrastructure, jobs and security. It puts the needs and interests of our people first. In 2017, Kaduna State will spend N44.84bn on Education; N10.49bn on Health; N24.50bn on Infrastructure and N8.1bn on Water. Agriculture, one of our areas of comparative advantage, will get N4.58bn.

 

All these investments are meant to ensure that in 2017, we deliver the Zaria Water project, begin a school rebuilding and equipment programme that is unprecedented in the history of the state; complete the refitting of 278 primary health centres and hospitals and improve our investment profile and job-creation capacity with the establishment of an agro-industrial zone. In addition, we will expand our programme to rebuild and maintain township roads and kick-off the first phase of the Kaduna mass transit scheme. An Emergency Nutrition Intervention Programme to reduce malnutrition and hunger amongst our poorest citizens and children will also be implemented.

 

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to commend the honourable members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thoroughness of their efforts in passing the budget. Our legislators actually reduced the draft estimates we presented by N1bn when the temptation might have been to pad it. We welcome their commitment to a partnership in the interest of our people, and the hard work they have demonstrated in passing 20 laws in 19 months. The B+ Fitch Ratings Kaduna State recently got owes a lot to the policy and legal framework created by legislation such as the Tax Codification, Public Procurement, Fiscal Responsibility and Public Finance Management laws.

 

I wish to inform our legislators that we shall be submitting a Supplementary Budget to enable us capture the debt refunds we have just received from the Federal Government. Fifty-five percent of these funds belong to the state government, and the balance is for the local governments. We propose to apply 50% of the funds to settling the inherited arrears of gratuity and death benefits for state and local government workers. Some of these unpaid arrears date from as far back as 2010. Mr. Dan Ndackson, the Executive Secretary of the Bureau of Pension, has done a great job of sorting out these records and we will be ready to pay once the supplementary budget is passed. This is unprecedented, but we are happy to clear the problems created by those before us. The balance of the funds will be dedicated to rural and urban roads.

 

I wish to acknowledge the contributions that our Commissioners and heads of MDAs made to the budget process by abiding with the budget preparation schedule. Now that the budget has been signed, our MDAs are expected to be quicker with procurement processes so that in 2017 we can record vast improvements in the performance of the capital budget. This is of vital importance if the goals of the expansionary budget and the needs of our people are to be met.

 

We note that the retooling of our MDAs is continuing, with many departments now complying with their new, streamlined establishments. This ensures that MDAs carry optimal personnel and makes possible a service-wide refit and matching of personnel to skills and opportunities.

 

I am happy to inform you that I have received reports that the Judiciary is making great progress with the e-judiciary project. When completed, this project will make it unnecessary for our judges to take down court proceedings in long hand, making the lives of our judges easier and improving the pace of the administration of justice.

 

Permit me to conclude by thanking the Federal Government for its support to Kaduna State. We assure our investors that we will continue to improve the ease of doing business in Kaduna State. The 2017 budget contains items that reflect our increased investment in security and appropriate technology for deterring and detecting crimes, and enabling the prosecution of criminals.

 

Having laid the structural foundations in policy and legislation, restructured government to cut waste and redirected resources to serving the people, 2017 is the year to realize the many tenders, procurement and projects we have initiated. Our governance agenda is broad, but focused on providing public goods and enabling an environment to promote investments and job-creation. We have made steady progress on all these, and we are on  course to achieve more.

 

Mr. Speaker, honorable members of the State House of Assembly, and the Executive Council, let us continue to work together to make Kaduna great again.

 

Thank you for listening.

2017 Budget Will Pull Nigeria Out of Recession- Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to Nigerians not to lose faith in the ability of his administration to make a difference in their lives, saying the 2017 Budget contains measures that will pull Nigeria out the current economic recession.
The president in his 2016 Eid-el-Maulud message to Muslim faithful, urged Nigerians not to despair as he was doing his best to redress the situation, particularly with a number of policies he had embedded in the 2017 budget proposals, which he would lay before the National Assembly on Wednesday.
He said: “As we use the memorable occasion of this celebration to reflect on our current challenges, I urge you not to lose faith in the ability of this administration to make a difference in the lives of our people.
“The 2017 Budget proposals, which I will lay before the National Assembly on Wednesday, will contain measures that we are confident will get the nation out of its economic woods.”
The president, while wishing all Muslims a happy and memorable celebration of the birth of the great Prophet, said through His (Prophet)  teachings, particularly on peaceful living, tolerance, sobriety, generosity, sacrifice and honesty, and wisdom, the nation had gained immensely in building a harmonious and prosperous society.
Buhari said the universal truth of the Prophet’s values remained unchanged.
He said: “Against all odds, we have used these pillars of strength in securing a just and fair society, and our efforts are beginning to yield dividends in curbing terrorism, militancy, corruption and other crimes that devalue our humanity.”
Buhari called on Nigerians not to allow the reality of the temporary challenges to undermine “our hope, reverse our collective will to succeed, or divide us”.
Rather, Buhari said, it should remind us of “why we need to stay together, fight together and succeed together”.
According to him, we all share a vision of a better Nigeria, and we will all share in the responsibility of building the country of our dreams.
He said: “As we look forward to 2017 with hope and huge expectations, let me assure you that with collective dedication and hard work, we will overcome the mountain of economic difficulties, and return our country to the path of prosperity.”
The president described the occasion of the Prophet’s birth as, “another period of celebration, and deep reflection”.
“Celebration, because we are marking the birth of Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), and deep reflection, because it is another opportunity of pausing, taking a deep breath and reflecting on the current realities before us,” he added.
Credit: thisdaylive

Governor Obiano presents N115.5 billion budget for 2017

Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra on Tuesday presented a budget proposal of N115.5 billion before the State House of Assembly.

According to Mr. Obiano, a total of N58.9 billion will be spent on capital projects, while N56.6 billion will go to recurrent expenditure.

This, he noted represents a ratio of 51 to 49 respectively just as the previous year.

He said the estimate was premised on the basis of N305 per dollar exchange rate and a projected price of $42 per barrel of crude oil.

The governor said that N40.2 billion was projected to come from the federal allocation, while N20.4 billion would be raised from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Mr. Obiano said that a sum of N12 billion was projected to come from development partners as counterpart fund.

On personnel expenditure, Mr. Obiano said that N17.7 billion would be spent as salaries and wages, N10.2 billion would be spent on pensions and gratuities of retirees, while N18.4 billion would be spent on overheads.

Mr. Obiano said the state government intends to revamp the more than 160 moribund water schemes in Anambra.

He further said that the state would spend N610 million on the 61 major markets in the area to enable traders to operate in a healthy and friendly environment.

The speaker of the House, Rita Mmaduagwu, admitted the document for deliberations following the motion moved by the Majority Leader of the House Victor Okoye.

Buhari will present 2017 budget within 10 days, confirms Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki has expressed optimism that the 2017 budget will be passed sooner than the 2016 budget, and without rancour.

He gave the assurance when he spoke with state house correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari?, at the presidential villa.

Saraki, who said he was at the villa to consult with the president on a number of national issues, including the budget, also said the national assembly was expecting to get the budget in the next 10 days.

The federal executive council presided over by President Buhari had on Wednesday approved the 2017 budget, preparatory to its transmission to the national assembly for its consideration and approval.

?Saraki said the senate was ready to receive the 2017 budget.

“We are ready. Once the document comes to us, we are ready,” he said.

“I think this time around, a lot of work has taken place behind the scene. There is a lot of more collaboration and you will see the result of that in the time frame it will take after the president will have presented it.”

?When asked if the issues surrounding the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) that led to the senate describing it as empty ?had been resolved, Saraki replied: “That is still a work in progress.

“I am sure that very soon, that matter will be concluded. But I am very optimistic that this year’s budget will be passed much more sooner than what we saw in the past.?”

Asked to disclose the details of the budget, he said: “Well, I haven’t seen the details, [not] until the president lays it. I am sure within the next 10 days, it will be presented.”

On the crisis generated by the defection of Yele  Omogunwa to the All Progressive Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Saraki said :?”It is democracy at work.

“The opposition party has its views about the defection of a senator to the APC. Normalcy has been restored to the house and we are one family again.”

Saraki meets Buhari, pledges early passage of 2017 budget

The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday assured Nigerians of an early passage of the 2017 budget proposal.

 

Mr. Saraki gave the assurance while addressing State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the 2017 budget estimate for onward submission to the National Assembly.

 

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, who confirmed the development to State House correspondents, said the date for the presentation of the document would be given by the National Assembly.

 

The senate president however expressed the readiness of the National Assembly to receive the document.

 

He also expressed optimism that within the next couple of days, President Buhari would transmit a letter to the National Assembly to lay the 2017 budget before it.

 

“We are ready. Once the document comes to us, we are ready,” Mr. Saraki said.

 

“I think this time around a lot of things, a lot of work has taken place behind the scenes – a lot of more collaborations and I think that you will see the result in the time frame it will take after the president will have presented it.’’

 

Mr. Saraki said normalcy had been restored to the Senate Chamber after Wednesday’s incident where some Senators from the opposition party, PDP, staged a walk-out in protest against one of their senators, who defected to APC.

 

“It is democracy at work. The opposition party has its views about the defection of a senator to the APC.

 

“Normalcy has been restored to the house and we are one family again.’’

Kaduna Assembly approves N214.9 billion 2017 Budget

The Kaduna State House of Assembly on Thursday passed into law, the state’s budget of N214.9 billion for 2017.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the figure is N1 billion less than the budget proposal forwarded by Governor Nasiru El-Rufa’i to the assembly on October 12, for approval.

 

The Speaker of the assembly, Aminu Shagali, who read the content of the budget clause by clause, said N83.46 billion was approved for recurrent and N131.45 for capital expenditure.

 

He said the budget would cover from now till December 31, 2017.

 

The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Ahmed Mohammed, later told journalists that the N1 billion cut from the original proposal was from the expected revenue of two agencies.

 

He said that revenue projection of the state Geographic Information System and Internal Revenue Service was reduced by N500 million for each of the agencies, “in view of current economic realities.”

 

He assured that the assembly would monitor the implementation to ensure that it serve the people better.

EXCLUSIVE: Governor Ambode presents 2017 Budget today. [FULL PRESENTATION SPEECH]

The Lagos State 2017 budget has been presented by Governor Ambode today at the Lagos State House of Assembly in the presence of all lawmakers from all constituencies in Lagos. Below is a transcript of his full presentation speech:

 

PROTOCOL

 

At the commencement of this administration, we began a journey with the people of Lagos with a promise to make the State work for all. We undertook this journey with great hope for tomorrow. We set forth not alone, but with the Almighty who has been faithful and very generous to us as a State in spite of the present economic situation we have found ourselves as a Nation.

 

On behalf of all the people of Lagos State, I wish to commend the Honourable Speaker and all Honourable members of this hallowed chamber for their unrelenting strides in growing and developing the economy of the State and being worthy ambassadors of our people.

 

The Year 2016 budget of N662.588bn was approved and signed into Law on January 4th, 2016 to focus on the expectations and priorities of our people. As at the end of October, 2016, the overall performance of the budget was 71%. Total revenue stood at N350bn/77.5% while Capital Expenditure closed at N200bn/62% and the Recurrent Expenditure performed at N180bn/82%.

 

As you are all well aware, we shall continue to render our performance/activities through in our Quarterly Town Hall Meetings in which the last Three meetings showcased all our activities in all sectors.

 

It is my strong belief that by the end of this year; there would have been more improvements in the performance indices due to our strong investment in infrastructure. It is worthy to note also that the reforms and restructuring in the Public Service have continued to yield positive and encouraging results as we continue to invest the resultant savings in other economic sectors of the State.

 

Mr. Speaker, Honorable Members, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, “The People’s” budget of 2016 has positively impacted the lives of Lagosians and I am confident that the year 2017 budget will consolidate on our modest achievements and propel our State to enviable heights.

 

The Year 2017 Budget will be in effect at an auspicious time when our State will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee Anniversary. The proposed budget with a size of N812.998billion will continue the massive renewal of our infrastructure and the enhancement of Lagos as one of the foremost tourism and investment destination in Africa.

 

While we focus on physical infrastructure, we shall continue to pay due attention to social infrastructure especially health, education, youth and social development in 2017.

 

The key components of “The Golden Jubilee Budget” are:

Budget Size N813bn

Recurrent   Expenditure N300.535bn

Capital    Expenditure N512.464bn

Capital/Recurrent ratio 63:37

 

We have maintained a conservative approach in estimating our Federal Allocation due to falling oil prices that was about $41.98 per barrel at the time we finalized this budget; however the State expects an increase in Federal allocation through 13% derivation from Oil & Gas in 2017.

 

In view of our financing gap, we shall continue to sustain deficit financing in the short-to-medium term; enhance revenue growth throughout the year on several initiatives including automation and efficient revenue administration.

 

We would explore more collaborations with local and international investors through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) especially in the areas of Road network expansion, Transport; Housing, and the Environment.

 

The sectoral allocations as proposed in this budget will be distilled further by the Commissioner of Finance later today.

We will equally continue implementing the ease of doing business reforms – starting a business, property registration, tax payment, e-GIS/ Smart  City project, continue to encourage investments in Lekki Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Badagry Deep Sea port and the Eko Atlantic project.

 

We will remain steadfast in our responsibility to make the State safe and secure for all our citizens. We will continue to invest in Security. The Neighbourhood Safety Agency will become fully operational by 2017 with presence in all our Local Governments and LCDAs.

 

A key focus of the budget for the 2017 is road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance. Our government will focus on roads that will open up the hinterlands, improve connectivity in the State and reduce travel time. Some of these projects will include:

  • Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road from Oshodi.
  • Agric-Isawo-Owotu-Arepo Road in Ikorodu
  • Igbe-Igbogbo Phase II- Bola Tinubu Way in Ikorodu.
  • Ijegun Imore Phase II Amuwo in Ojo axis.
  • Oke-Oso-Araga-Poka in Epe.
  • Epe-Poka-Mojoda in the Epe axis.
  • Completion of the Abule-Egba, Ajah and Pen Cinema flyovers.

Our administration shall enter into PPPs for the following projects;

  • Oke Oso-Itoikin dualisation Project in the Epe axis.
  • Okokomaiko-Seme Road Project in Badagry axis
  • Ikorodu-Agbowa-Itoikin-Ijebu Ode Road Project in Ikorodu axis

We will commence the Phase II of the 114 Local Government Roads project and the Fourth Mainland Bridge in 2017.

 

In the course of the 2017 Financial Year, we shall carry out fundamental reforms on all our modes of transportation – Roads, Water and the Walkways. In this wise, a Public Transport Infrastructure Bond will be issued in the course of the year.

 

The State government will embark on the Urbanisation of the Marina axis, Waterways Channelization, establishment of more Parks and Gardens as well as the Community Sports Centres and Stadiums in different locations across the State.

 

We will fully implement the Medical Health Insurance Scheme and deploy e-Health/ e-insurance Health Service solutions; and complete the on-going upgrading and extension work in the State General Hospitals and Ayinke House in Ikeja. Work will commence on our Medical Park in the 2017 fiscal year.

 

With the aim of making Lagos State the next technology frontier in Africa, we will invest in Digital Libraries (e-Libraries) as well as Code Lagos projects to prepare our younger ones to meet the new workforce demands, harness the benefits of technology and communicate in the language of the future.

 

Our administration is committed to various projects in the area of Tourism. Our vision is to create a Tourism Hub around the Onikan-Lagos Marina Axis. We will also develop the Epe and Badagry marinas to harness the tourism potentials of these areas. We will establish Museum for Art and Culture in Ikeja, construct 5 Arts/Culture theatres in Alimosho, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Ikeja with a 400-seater hall in each of them.

 

We will accelerate the food expansion programme with a special focus on rice production, animal husbandry and root crops. We will intensify our collaboration with other States in the development of a commodity Value Chain specifically for food commodities. We will invest more to boost fish production in the State, by improving the production capacity of Ayobo Fish Farm Estate in Alimosho area in addition to providing employment opportunities for the youths.

 

The Employment Trust Fund has commenced financial support to our youths and entrepreneurs and this will be intensified throughout next year.

 

In the area of environment, we will improve water supply through Public Private Partnership (PPP) and increase the capacity utilization of water treatment plants, ensure efficient waste management system by increasing the number of Transfer Loading Stations from three (3) to fifteen (15), mitigate the effect of climate change through the conservation of the natural environment and promotion of biodiversity, as well as minimizing flood through effective erosion control.

 

Mr. Speaker, Honorable Members, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, in our bid to ensure that Lagos works for all, we have presented an all-inclusive budget. However, we are constrained by rising inflation as well as limited financial resources.

 

We seek the cooperation and understanding of all residents in prompt payment of taxes and for the information of our citizens, the State Government has embarked on extensive revenue collection reforms. We will soon introduce more effective multi-pay channels to improve the administration and collection of Revenue. Our Central Billing System and efforts to fully automate revenue collection for ease of payment have reached an advanced stage.

 

The successful implementation of this budget   depends on all Lagosians. We all have a huge responsibility to ensure that it succeeds as we cannot just afford to fail even at this critical period of economic recession.

 

As we approach the end of the year, we implore all citizens to be conscious of their environment and take all preventive measures as appropriate. We will continue to ask for your support at all times as we continue to build the Lagos that works for all.

 

I wish you all, a prosperous and more fulfilling Year ahead.

 

Thank you for listening.

 

Itesiwaju IpinleEko, Lo Jewalogun!!

 

AkinwunmiAmbode

Governor of Lagos State

November 29, 2016

I will make sure Nigeria’s 2017 budget is not padded, Buhari vows.

The distortions that happened to the 2016 budget, in which series of rogue projects and figures were injected into the financial document won’t happen to next year’s budget, President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed.

Receiving in audience members of the Governance Support Group, GSG, led by Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, at State House, Abuja, Friday, 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.”

President Buhari reiterated 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.

The President said 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.

“They don’t want to reflect on the situation in which we are, economically. They want to live the same way; they simply want business as usual,” he said.

On violence that attend re-run elections in the country, President Buhari stated:

“I agonized over the elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers states. We should have passed the stage in which people are beheaded, and killed because of who occupies certain offices. If we can’t guarantee decent elections, then we have no business being around. Edo State election was good, and I expect Ondo State election to be better.”

Speaking on the anti-corruption cases before the courts, the President said he believed the cleansing currently going on “will lead to a better judiciary. When people are sentenced, Nigerians will believe that we are serious.”

President Buhari equally told his guests that the progress being made in agriculture and exploitation of solid minerals “gives a lot of hope,” adding:

“Our grains go up to Central African Republic, to Burkina Faso, but they can’t buy all the grains harvested this year. And next season should be even better. We will focus on other products like cocoa, palm oil, palm kernel, along with the grains. We can start exporting rice in 18 months, and we are getting fertilizers and pesticides in readiness for next year.”

Speaking on behalf of members of GSG, Mr. Nwajiuba said the government had succeeded to a large extent on the security and anti-corruption fronts, adding that the group was positive that the economy would soon experience a turnaround, “as the government is working very hard in that direction.”

The group said the biggest constituency of the President was the poor and lowly, and thus recommended what it calls “a social re-armament of the poor.”

Buhari to present 2017 budget to National Assembly on December 1

The Presidency may present the 2017 budget on Thursday, December 1 before a joint session of the National Assembly.

 

This was disclosed by the Senate minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, at the end of the debate on 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, yesterday.

 

Akpabio was reacting to criticisms by some senators that the document should be returned to the executive.

 

Akpabio noted that doing so would be counter-productive in view of the planned presentation of 2017 budget on Thursday, December 1.

 

Akpabio, however, said the document should be left with relevant committee to address the flaws.

 

Akpobio said, “We can see that we don’t have a perfect document in our hands but of course we are looking at assumptions and assumptions may not necessarily be correct.

 

“I want to suggest that we send it to the committee. Of course, the committee will invite the relevant agencies and ministries of government.

 

“They will come up with a more realistic MTEF/FSP because I believe also that looking at the date that this was submitted to the Senate – it was submitted to the Senate on the 4th of October – and we are debating it today on the 22nd (of November). So, a lot of indices must have changed.

 

“Yesterday, you [Senate President Bukola Saraki] made reference to the fact that the president may be coming to the chambers to submit and read the 2017 budget on December 1.

 

“If that is the case and we send this back now and wait for it to come and debate it, it means that we will not be able to meet that deadline. But if we send it to the committee level, they may come up with something within the next three days that will be more realistic.

 

“So, my appeal will be that the committee members should take into cognisance all the submissions and observations made today so that we can come up with a more realistic MTEF and FSP.”

Expert urges FG to pay more attention to ICT in 2017 Budget.

Mr Femi Efunsanya, Chief Executive Officer, MDOT Solution on Friday urged the Federal Government to give more priority to Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in 2017 budget.

Efunsanya made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He also called for the formulation of good policy that would create an enabling environment for ICT entrepreneurs and attract foreign investors in the country.

“Nigeria is currently planning to diversify from oil to another sector.

“I think the ICT sector is capable of improving the economy if government can make it viable for investment.

“As Nigeria is facing recession, ICT can bring different kinds of innovation that can be useful to reviving the economy,” Efunsanya said.

According to him, a country like India has also experienced the same economic hardship and it made their ICT sector viable through policies that would encourage their start-ups to be more innovative.

Efunsanya said that a lot of e-commerce had been established and. most of them were yielding positive results in terms of efficiency.

“E-commerce has become a patronised system of acquiring goods in the country now and it has generated a lot of jobs.

“Government needs to give more priority to that sector because Nigeria has brilliant people who can be innovative.

“If the ICT is given the necessary attention, it is capable of generating internal revenue like oil for the country,” he said

Efunsanya said that the challenge faced by start-up and Small and Medium enterprises (SME’s) were numerous, both internally and externally such as infrastructures, power, and lack of finance, among others.

He appealed to the government to create more technology hub for start-ups for technologists to bring more innovations just like the advanced countries.

NASS Should Expect 2017 Budget By October, Says Udo-Udoma

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo-Udoma said the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework would be ready and submitted to the National Assembly for consideration by October

Udo-Udoma said this in Abuja on Monday at a Stakeholders Consultative Forum with Civil Society Groups and organised private sector on the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

He also said the Federal Government had expended N2.1 trillion out of the N6.06 trillion approved budget for 2016 while only N253 billion of the N1.8 trillion earmarked capital projects had been spent so far.

“Demand and supply factors are expected to keep crude oil prices low in the medium term compared to the period prior to mid 2014.

“We are considering a conservative oil price benchmark of 42.5 dollar per barrel for 2017, 45 dollar per barrel in 2018 and 50 dollar per barrel in 2019.

“We estimate oil production to be 2.2 million barrel per day for 2017; 2.3 million barrel per day in 2018 and 2.4 million barrel per day for 2019.

“We have pegged exchange rate for 2017, 2018 and 2019 at N290 to a dollar,” he said.

 

Even though he did not give the projected total expenditure for the government, he talked about the revenue projection for the 2017-2019 MTEF.

“A significant increase in non-oil revenue receipts is projected due to a gradually recovering domestic economy and government’s expected improvement in FIRS tax collection efforts.

“Company Income Tax is projected to increase from N1.79 trillion in 2016 to over N1.86 trillion in 2017 and beyond.

“VAT collections to increase by about 42.4 per cent 2017. Operating surpluses projection have been moderated downwards for 2017 and thereafter a modest growth.

“Customs collections are projected to moderated downwards for 2017 and thereafter a modest growth,” he said.

Udo-Udoma said that recoveries of misappropriated and looted funds would also form part of their anticipated revenue for the years to come.

 

Meanwhile, The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Mr Eze Onyepere, said government should learn and build on the mistakes of the 2016 budget.

“We should draw lessons from the mistakes of the last budget. We have all seen that the revenue projections for 2016 were over optimistic.

“This is why we are finding it difficult to get money to fund the budget especially the capital expenditure.

“In 2017 onwards, we should be more empirical in our revenue forecast. Let it be more realistic so that there won’t be a deviation of more than minus or plus five percent.

“This is because if we have more money, we can do supplementary budgets rather than have an overly optimistic revenue projections and at the end of the day we are not able to fund our budget,” he said.

 

Also, the Governance Programme Manager, Actionaid Nigeria, Mr Obo Effanga, reminded the government of the limited time it had to fulfill its promises.

“This administration is a four-year period and one year has gone already and even the government had admitted that the last year will be given to politics, so effectively they have just two years left.

“And we are preparing the budget for one of the two years remaining so if we don’t make sure that this works very well, it means that we can only look up to 2018,” he said.

 

Effang commended the Federal Government for its decision to actively involve the civil society in the process leading to the preparation of the budget.

He said it was the first time in many years.