By Maduka Nweke, Chinwendu Obienyi and Sampson Unamka
The Federal Government yesterday, declared it has spent about N3.57 trillion out of its N6.06 trillion budget for 2016 as of end of September this year.
This, according to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, represents about 79 per cent performance of the prorated budget for the first three quarters of the year.
Speaking at the KPMG CFO Forum Breakfast Meeting in Lagos Monday, Udoma said the Federal Government’s Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) was anchored on four policy fundamentals that include critical infrastructure, embracing the private sector, fostering social inclusion and job creation, improving security and tackling corruption.
“Notwithstanding serious revenue shortfalls, the Federal Government had spent about N3.57 trillion as of September 2016 out of the full year budget of N6.06 trillion for the 2016 fiscal year and this translates to a 79 per cent performance of the prorated budget for the first three quarters.
“In addition to the total of N2.44 trillion so far released for capital expenditure, non-debt recurrent and service-wide vote expenditure, a total of N1.138 trillion had also been paid out in domestic and foreign debt service expenditures and this includes N44 billion transferred to the sinking fund to retire maturing obligations,” he explained.
The Minister disclosed that budgeted personnel cost and debt service obligations have been fully met and despite fiscal challenges, government remains committed to meeting its debt obligations while funding critical sectors to enable it to function smoothly.
He noted further that, “the total amount of N753.6 billion already released for capital expenditure in 2016 was the highest in the nation’s recent history, even in an era of high oil prices.
Indeed, the capital releases to date exceeded the aggregate capital expenditure budget for 2015 of about N700 billion, inclusive of capital expenditure in statutory transfers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Udoma said the 2017 budget would target private sector in Nigeria as a way of opening the economy to diversification.
While presenting the 2017 CFO Survey Questions, National Senior Partner, KPMG, Kunle Elebute, said that apart from the forum aimed at fostering growth in all sectors of the economy, its objectives include to give a voice to CFOs, particularly on what they would like to see in the 2017 budget and how the budget can be used as an instrument to ease out of recession.