• Nigerians in mixed reactions over delay, allocations
• Buhari yet to get petroleum bill, says presidency
The two chambers of the National Assembly, yesterday, passed the 2018
budget totaling N9.120, 334,988,225.The budget is over N500 billion higher than
the N8.61
2 trillion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint session
of the Assembly last year.The Chairman, Senate Appropriation Committee, Danjuma
Goje, said:”The increase was done after close consultation with the executive.”
In his remarks, Senate President Bukola Saraki called for immediate
implementation “so that our people will begin to benefit from the objective of
the budget and the opportunities it offers.”House of Representatives Speaker
Yakubu Dogara also urged the executive arm of government to ensure expeditious
implementation of the budget.
The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing received N682,959,550,242;
Ministry of Transportation, N251,420,000.000; Ministry of Defence,
N157,715,439.613; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, N149,198,139.0
37; Ministry of Water Resources, N147,199,614,645; and Ministry of Industry,
Trade and Investment, N105,156,176,854.Ministry of Education got
N102,907,290,833; Ministry of Health, N86,482,848,198; Ministry of Environment,
N17,492,955,833; and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, N58,082,611,977.
The Federal Government’s special intervention programme got
N150,000,000,000; grants and donor funded projects, N169,919,791,292; and zonal
intervention projects, N100,000,000. The National Assembly, the National
Judicial Council, the Universal Basic Education and the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) also got approval for statutory transfer worth
N139,500,000,000; N109,063,630,546; and N81,882,555,891.
Nigerians, meanwhile, have been reacting to the passage of the budget.The
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Oluremi Tinubu, expressed
concern over the low allocation to environment, saying the amount cannot tackle
the Ogoni cleanup.She spoke at the fifth Impact Plan Retreat organised by the
National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA),
yesterday, in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The Registrar, Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), Dr. Chris Onalo,
urged government to compensate for the delay in passing the budget by releasing
funds for infrastructural development of key areas of the economy.He said: “We
have put in a lot of years to nurture our democratic principle and it is
important that the legislature and the executive put aside any form of
personality consideration. It is quite clear that Nigerians should not be denied
any form of economic prosperity. Nowhere in the world will Nigeria be
congratulated for a budget that should have been passed early enough in the
interest of the country.
“We are supposed to have 12 months to make good use of the budget. The
delay means that Nigeria has been unfortunately tied down and moved out of
economic activities during the time the budget was delayed.”The President of
the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Babatunde Ruwase, regretted
the delay. He said the risk is that recurrent spending will be fully
implemented while capital projects suffer implementation deficiency.
He said: “The delay has implications for planning in both the public and
private sectors of the economy. Strategic planning for many organisations takes
a cue from the budget structure and the policies that come with it. To the
extent that the budget is not in place, uncertainty and associated business
risks in the economy are heightened. This is surely not good for investors’
confidence, either from a foreign investor’s perspective or from domestic
investors’ standpoint.”
He added: “There is the need for better communication between the
National Assembly and the executive arm of government. They need to be on the
same page with regard to the fundamental principles of the budget. It is also
necessary to clearly define the boundaries of responsibilities between the
executive and legislature in budgetary appropriations, to avoid the recurring
problem of delays.”
On his part, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN),
Dr. Frank Jacobs, noted: “We are happy the budget is passed. That means funds
would be made available while the buying power of consumers may likely improve.
This would also translate to improvement in production and sales by the productive
sector of the economy. In all, it is a good one for the economy as a whole.”
Meanwhile, the harmonised Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB)
approved by the National Assembly March 28, is yet to reach Buhari’s desk for
assent, the Presidency said yesterday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters
(Senate), Senator Ita Enang, in a statement said his findings revealed the bill
is still undergoing standard operating legislative processes preparatory to
being transmitted to the president.
“Further to several enquiries by the media, interest groups, and the
public in respect of the named bill, may I please state that the said bill has
not yet been transmitted by the National Assembly to president,” he said.The
implication, according to Onalo, is that the PIGB may suffer more delay and
dampened enthusiasm, resulting in investment losses in the oil and gas sector.
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