By Oguwike Nwachuku
Six months after President Muhammadu Buhari laid the 2018 budget proposal of N8,612,236,953,214 before the lawmakers at a joint-session of the National Assembly (NASS) in November 7, 2017, it has eventually been passed.
The lawmakers passed the 2018 Appropriation Bill on May 16, after raising the figure to N9.120, 334,988,225, more than N500 billion higher than what was originally proposed by the executive.
A breakdown of the recently passed budget indicates a recurrent expenditure of N3, 516, 477, 902, 077, a capital expenditure of N2, 869, 600, 351, 825, debt servicing expenditure of N2, 203, 835, 365, 699, sinking fund for maturing loan of N199billion, and N530,421,368,624 for statutory transfer.
Against earlier assumptions/projections of crude oil benchmark of US$45 per barrel based on production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day, the NASS set a new benchmark of US$51 per barrel due to the recent sudden rise in price of crude oil, Nigeria’s main revenue earner, which today stands at about US$80 per barrel.
Chairman, Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Danjuma Goje, had justified the more than N500 billion added to the proposal, saying “the increase was done after close consultation with the executive.”
In their remarks, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara harped on the need for full implementation of the budget.
To them, the implementation of 2018 budget should commence immediately “so that our people will begin to benefit from the objective of the budget and the opportunities it offers.”
The Senate President also spoke about a supplementary budget to deal with fuel subsidy matter.
“In the area that we could not address, which is the issue of fuel subsidy, I want to make an appeal again that the Executive needs to look into this for the interest of transparency where an expenditure close to over N1 trillion must be captured in the budget,” Saraki said.
Saraki urged agencies of government to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and speed up the procurement process in his elaborate remark.
He said: “Distinguished colleagues, let me thank you so much for the industry you have put into bringing us to this point. Let me thank the relevant sub-committees, especially, for the patriotism and commitment to the delivery of a more efficiency-oriented budget.
“When we received the 2018 Draft Appropriation Bill, I reiterated the need for us to reassess the relationship between oil and our economy. We must grow our economy away from oil. Hopefully, the current budget, when signed into law, should help us in this regard, especially with the coming into focus for implementation, the economic reform bills we have passed so far and those on the way to full passage.
“We have always believed that government spending must continue to grow on issues relevant to the welfare and security of our people. In the same vein, government spending should reduce in areas where the private sector is better placed to catalyse progress. This will free up funds for Education, Health, Water and Sanitation services, among others.
“On this note, it is with great delight that I announce that the 2018 Budget has met the threshold of reserving at least 1% of total budget to health. This is historic. We were focused on this commitment of the 1% set aside for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). We promised, and we have delivered.
“For us this is not a commitment to numbers; it is a commitment to the health and well-being of our people. It is a commitment to ‘Making Nigeria Stronger’. We expect that this will continue and even inch upwards as we work to eradicate malaria, and significantly reduce infant and maternal mortality. The statistics that show Nigeria as having one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world – is not the Nigeria we want to leave behind for our children. The journey starts now; let us not look back.
“As you will recall, I had indicated the need for the Executive and the Legislature to come together, especially in the formation and passage of the Appropriation Bill. However, while we may have made progress in the formation stages, there is a lot more that needs to happen, to minimise delays and other stumbling blocks in the process.
“One of the symptoms of the unhelpful aspects of the prevailing culture hampering the process remains the neglect or refusal of certain agencies of government to honour invitations to budget defence. It is our hope that we will see a major change in this regard, going forward…
“It is also hoped that we have put together a Budget that will lend itself easily to the government priority of revamping the economy, creating jobs and fuelling the economic recovery in a manner that has meaning for the ordinary man on the street.
“We would like to see that the process of implementation of the budget starts immediately so that our people will begin to benefit from the objective of the budget and opportunities it opens. In order for us to have an efficient budget implementation, we will advise that agencies of government eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and speed up the procurement process.
“I congratulate us all, once again, on this accomplishment of passing the 2018 Appropriations Bill; and I enjoin everyone in the legislature and the Executive to do their very best to ensure its successful implementation, for the greater development of our country.”
In the budget breakdown, 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).
Others are Ministry of Education (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.
The reactions that have greeted the passage of the Appropriation Bill by the NASS are both positive and negative. And that is expected.
To Registrar, Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), Dr. Chris Onalo, government should 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.”
Babatunde Ruwase, President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), shared a similar sentiment.
He said the risk is that recurrent spending will be fully implemented while capital projects suffer implementation deficiency.
Ruwase 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.
“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.”
President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Jacobs, on his part is happy with the passage. “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.”
Many businesses in the country – public and private – are tied to the budget of the country, and it can only be imagined what Nigerians have lost to delayed budget passage in six months not to talk of the implementation with all the uncertainties.
This is not the first time Nigerians are regaled with blame game tales between the executive and the legislature over budget delay. Unfortunately, the more both organs of government “commit” themselves to quick passage of the budget the more they renege as we have seen from the senate president’s remarks.
Even as the budget had been passed by the NASS, it remains to be seen how urgent it will be assented to by the President to make way for the much canvassed immediate implementation by Saraki and Dogara.
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, has already raised fears of further delay when he hinted that Buhari might not assent to the document because of the additional N501 billion. He said the source of the revenue to deal with the addition was not known to the executive.
“When we see the details, we will be in a better position to know how they came about it.
“We will see if they have discovered another revenue stream, which we were not aware of, or just relying on increased crude oil price,” Udoma said.
It is doubtful if the executive and the legislature can be taken seriously any longer as regards keeping to time on budget matters if past experiences are our guide.
Many Nigerians will find it difficult to believe that there is no conspiracy between the two arms of government to downplay their welfare.
That both arms of government do not treat issues of budget the way they treat their personal issues, and even play politics with it, shows how detached those we call our leaders are from us, the led.
One is bothered about the 2018 budget because election is next year. Ordinarily, the government in power ought to use the budget to score some political goals prior to the general election if it has verifiable achievements in the sectors based on allocations captured in the previous budget to showcase.
That, perhaps, is where the 1% special provision in the 2018 budget for Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) comes into focus.
The country’s health care system, like many other sectors, has been on life support. It is made worse by the fact that our leaders are contented embarking on medical tourism outside our shores, even for the minutest of ailments.
Unfortunately, the most culpable when it comes to medical treatment abroad are our leaders in the executive and legislature, the two arms of government that have shown to play politics more with the budget.
That the eight NASS has kick-started the process of having our health sector get attention in the budget in line with World Health Organisation’s specification of 5 percent of GDP or GNP on health is a step in the right direction.
The reason the Joint Health Staff Union (JOHESU), an umbrella body of health workers (minus medical doctors) in Nigeria has been on strike since April 17 now is because of the carelessness on the part of our leaders in dealing with matters in the health sector.
Believe it or not, health workers in Nigeria do more strike than they engage themselves in the theatres and wards of our hospitals.
That, signposts, one of the many tragedies and wraths in the health sector, and the reason is also simple – poor or lack of systematic funding.
Unfortunately, so many other sectors are as bedeviled by the same lack of attention. The education sector which the United Nations (UNESCO) says every country ought to set aside 26 per cent of its budget in order to achieve standardized and quality education is a case in point.
Think about what the texture of the 2018 budget that had been passed by the NASS would have been if it had contained these critical provisions that will impact significantly on the life of the people?
Imagine the value addition that alone would have had on the government in power which is seeking votes from the same electorate it is foot-dragging over their welfare?
Here, if we must apply the axiom – it is better late than never – it is high time our National Assembly dwelt more on putting in our budget, all the special provisions that will serve as a catalyst for enduring development in our critical sectors in line with global recommended standards.
For 17 years since the famous Abuja Declaration by African Union (AU) Heads of States committed themselves in 2001 in Nigeria to having a 15 per cent special provision made in their budget for the health sector to tackle most of the challenges that are taken for granted in Europe and America, we are still telling stories.
That to me is the gain from the 1% special provision in the budget for the health sector recently passed by the Nigerian National Assembly.
And that is the only way the budget can make a difference in the lives of the people, otherwise it will be the usual story lacking in substance.
