President Muhammad Buhari has benchmarked the 2017 budget at N305 per dollar, as against N197 to the greenback budgeted in 2016.

The N7.298 trillion budget also sets a benchmark of $42.5 per barrel of oil, as against $38 in 2016.

The budget, which is 20.4 percent bigger than that of 2016, has earmarked 30.7  percent for capital expenditure “to pull the economy out of recession”.

Again, the ministry of power, works and housing has the lion share of the budget, at N520 billion for capital projects.

More to follow…