The National Assembly recently passed the 2017 Appropriation Bill and forwarded it to the president for his assent. Although the bill spent up to five months in the two chambers of the federal legislature, having been submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari in December last year, it is a relief that it is largely not mirred in confusion like the 2016 Appropriation Bill that was heavily padded. Now that the document is now in the presidency, it is necessary for all the controversies on it to be quickly resolved so that it can be expeditiously signed into law.
Among the controversies over the appropriation bill is the addition of N143 billion to the original N7.268 trillion estimates proposed by the president. The final budget passed by the lawmakers is N7.44trn. Out of the N143bn, the legislators raised their own budget by N10bn, to N125bn.
An overview of the proposed budget shows that Statutory Transfers got N434bn, while Debt Services got N1.8trn (25 percent of the budget, and N600bn above that of 2016)
A sum of N177.5bn is voted for Sinking Fund for Maturity Bonds and N2.99trn for Recurrent Non-debt expenditure. Also, N2.174trn is for capital expenditure, while N2.98trn is for recurrent expenditure. The budget as passed is based on a benchmark crude oil price of $42.5 per barrel at 2.2m bpd, with a foreign exchange rate of N305/$1
Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, Danjuma Goje, said the decision to raise the budget by N143bn was informed by the need to make budgetary provisions for some critical sectors of the economy. He explained that the Committee deemed it necessary to make some landmark interventions in infrastructure, listing the projects that need such urgent capital interventions to include the second Abuja International Airport runway, the rehabilitation and upgrading of Abeokuta Airport, and the Amnesty programme that will ensure peace and stability in the crisis-torn Niger Delta region.
There is no doubt that the appropriation bill is the most important bill before the legislature. Every sector of the economy looks forward to its passage by the National Assembly, and the assent of the president.
However, the passage of the bill into law was delayed on account of the acrimonious relationship between the Executive and the Legislature. In the last couple of years, such delays and the failure to fully implement the budgets have impeded economic recovery and growth. In some instances, the personal and selfish interests of lawmakers appeared to have superseded national aspirations. The decision of the legislators to raise their own budget by a hefty N10bn at this time of economic recession is raising eyebrows.
With almost six months into the year, is there any hope that the 2017 budget will achieve its objective and realise its theme of “Budget of Recovery and Growth”? Time is of essence and sincerity of purpose is key. A budget is no better than the paper on which it is written if it fails to meet its targets.
It will be recalled that President Buhari, while presenting the budget estimates last December said it would, among other things, boost agricultural productivity and domestic manufacturing, as well as give Nigerians a reason to believe in governance. So far, these aspirations are still in the realm of a promise. Oil price in the international market has since picked up above the benchmark on which the budget was predicated, the foreign reserve has also increased in recent months, but these have not led to a significant improvement in the welfare of the citizens. Inflation is still at double digits, prices of food items and other necessities are out of the reach of most Nigerians. These are basic things a budget should address, in addition to being the engine that drives national development.
It is unfortunate that most federal budgets have, over the years, not gone beyond 50 percent implementation level. It remains to be seen if the current budget will break that jinx. We have observed, rather sadly, that the failure to link government policies and plans with the annual budgets has contributed to poor budgeting outcomes. Our fragmented planning processes do not align with our annual budgets. Government should strengthen the linkage between plans and budgets to ensure better implementation of projects and programmes.
We urge the Acting President to do the needful and give his assent to the Appropriation Act as soon as possible so that the different sectors of the economy can begin to see and enjoy the dividends of the budget. A faithful implementation of the budget will also go a long way in aiding the recovery of the economy.