2017 budget: Presidency to spend N2.9 billion on honorarium, allowances

From Basil Obasi, Abuja

The 2017 budget of growth and recovery has lots of revelations that stand in contrast with the popular view about President Buhari’s thriftiness and presupposed fiscal prudence.
One of such jolts is that the budget document shows that a whopping N2.9 billion has been voted for honorarium and allowances for the presidency and agencies/parastatals under it.
It is unimaginable to find that President Buhari budgeted about N507 million for honorarium and sitting allowance in 2016 while his predecessor, President Goodluck Jonathan budgeted N174 million for the same purpose in 2015.
Analyzing the budget, Daily Sun found that the office of the president expects to spend N393 million, consisting of N188 million for honorarium and sitting allowances, N205 million would be spent on non-regular allowances, while the office of Vice President and Chief of Staff will take N21.3 million and N18 million, respectively.
Also, the document revealed that the Office of the Senior Special Assistance to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) devoted N10 million on honorarium and sitting allowance while the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) intends to spend N24 million on the same item.
The budget document indicates that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) proposal to spend N1.83 billion to  this particular item contributed 73 percent to giving the agency the largest fund when compared with other agencies under the presidency.
Also, the 2017 budget shows that the Federal Government earmarked a total of N660, 377,107 to take care of power challenge at the State House and other strategic offices in the Presidency. This sum comprises of N436, 853,111 for the normal electricity charges and an additional allocation of N223, 523,996 for its alternative power solutions.
The maintenance of infrastructure and technical facilities in the Defense House and other Safe Houses will gulp N367.980 million, while the rehabilitation and infrastructure of security quarters in the villa will also take N284.587 million.
May be, in line with the determination of President Muhammadu to root out corruption in the country, N17.202 billion is allocated to the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), making it the largest single allocation among the agencies under the presidency.
There was about N200 million reductions on what the president would spend on travels next year compared to 2016. The president is planning to spend N978 million on travels – N739 million foreign and N239 million local.
The president’s chief security officer (CSO) is proposing to spend N123 million next year, while the office of the vice president budgeted N306 million for travels; N218 for foreign and N88 million, local – against 2016’s N43 million and 2015’s N33 million.
Another line of expenditure that draws public attention is that the presidency and all the agencies under it proposed to spend N132.47 million on sewage and sewage disposal.
Out of this amount, the State House Headquarters plans to spend N52.83 million on sewage charges, while the State House Liaison Office in Lagos will spend N10million.
Also the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals will spend N1.8 million on sewage charges, the EFCC voted N19 million, while the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President will spend N3.71million to pack faeces.