The National Assembly has retained the N3.327 billion which the executive proposed as travel expenses for President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the federal government’s 2020 budget.
The budget as passed by the legislators and signed into law by President Buhari, Tuesday, indicated that the President would spend a total of N2.526 billion on local and international travels, while Vice President Osinbajo was allocated N801.035 billion.
A breakdown showed that President Buhari would spend N1.751 billion travelling across the globe, while N775.602 million had been earmarked for his local travel.
The Vice President was allocated N517.060 million for international travel; while he would be expected to spend N 283. 974 million travelling within the country.
President Buhari would spend about N98.306 million on foodstuffs and catering materials; while the VP was allocated N50. 888 million for the same purpose.
The State House has earmarked a total capital expenditure of N4.806 billion, of which about N474 million would be spent on the purchase of motor vehicles.
General maintenance services were allocated about NN416 million and another N380.534 million for materials and supplies; while N476.869 million would be spent on utilities, such as electricity, water, internet and sewage.
N996.908 million would go to miscellaneous expenditure, with an honorarium and sitting allowance taking the bulk of N478.313 million. Welfare packages were allocated N240.730 million.
Conservation upgrade of the Villa ranch and construction of wildlife conservation capture was allocated N12.945 million.
Frivolous items in FG 2020 budget
The federal government budget is replete with items which monitoring would literally be impossible, an indication that a lot of items would be impossible to track, especially by the media, Civil Society Organisations and, indeed, the public.
For instance, under the Ministry of Works and Housing, the budget item with code ERGP 12142038, entitled “Payment for other on-going projects and retention,” was allocated N571.6 million. The affected projects and their locations were not mentioned.
Similarly, item ERGP 12142047 Routine intervention on the road network in the 36 states by Federal Controllers of Works was allocated N1.039 billion; while ERGP 12142022 was allocated N886 million. The item is for intervention on internal roads of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Construction of drainages across Malumfashi/Kafur Federal Constituency, Kastina, which was allocated the sum of N100 million, had no specific site addresses.
Similarly, construction of culverts across Yobe North senatorial district which was allocated N300 million, had no accompanying addresses.
Other strange line items in the Ministry of Works and Housing budget included construction of Community Centres in six local government areas of Yobe North, allocated N420 million; provision of starter packs economic empowerment materials across the federation, with emphasis on hunger and learning, allocated N1 billion; while provision and installation of sign and signages across 6 geopolitical zones was allocated N500 million.
The ministry budgeted N2.8 billion for solar boreholes, which is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources; N5.962 billion for settlement of MGDs, SGDs and direct mandate liabilities; as well as another N952.280 billion for provision of Maternity Centres which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday signed the 2020 Appropriation Bill of N10.594 trillion into law.
The signing ceremony witnessed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, President of the Senate, Dr.Ahmad Lawan, speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, and Director-General, Budget Office, Dr. Ben Akabueze, among others, took place at the President’s office, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
This is even as the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, said the federal government would depend on borrowing and Production Sharing Contract, PSC, to finance the 2020 budget.
In his speech at the ceremony, President Buhari commended the leadership of the National Assembly for passing the budget before the end of the year, announcing that he planned to send a borrowing plan bill for passage by the parliament.
The 2020 Budget passed by the National Assembly provides for aggregate expenditures of N10.594 trillion, an increase of N263.95 billion over what the executive proposed when it was submitted in October 2019.
President Buhari said he has examined the adjustments and might revert to the National Assembly with a request for virement or other relevant amendments.
The President said: “I am very pleased that the National Assembly worked uncommonly long hours in the interest of our people and the national economy to ensure detailed legislative review and passage of the budget within two months.
“This patriotic zeal adopted by the Ninth National Assembly has restored our budget cycle to a predictable January to December fiscal year. Furthermore, in the twenty years since the return to civilian democracy, this will be just the fourth time that the federal budget was passed before the end of the previous year, and this is the earliest.
“The passage of the Finance Bill, which I am told will be done in the coming days, will also be a landmark achievement worthy of recognition, being the first time this has been done in the last twenty years.
“We look forward to receiving this bill shortly for Presidential assent. Once passed into law, the Finance Bill will support the funding and implementation of the 2020 Budget. We shall sustain this tradition by ensuring that subsequent budgets are also accompanied by a Finance Bill.”
He thanked the Ninth National Assembly for supporting important legislation, such as the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Amendment Act and the 2019 Finance Bill. According to him, these laws are vital to the successful implementation of the 2020 Budget.
“I am aware of the regular high-level discussions that took place, between senior officials of the Executive and the Legislature during this period. I commend this renewed partnership, the mutual understanding as well as collaboration between these two arms of government.
“Now, we are well-positioned to effectively implement the budget and deliver our promises to Nigerians. Businesses will also benefit as they are now in a position to plan more effectively. We have to sustain this harmonious working relationship. I expect that, going forward, this will be the norm.
”I have directed that efforts be made to ensure the presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in September 2020. I am confident that all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies will cooperate with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to keep to this timeline.
“I will work with the Ninth National Assembly to give effect to the constitutional, legislative and other actions that may be necessary to address the various challenges currently associated with our federal budgeting process, including the enactment of an Organic Budget Bill.
“The 2020 Budget passed by the National Assembly provides for aggregate expenditures of Ten-point-Five-Nine-Four Trillion Naira (N10.594 trillion), an increase of Two Hundred and Sixty-Three-point-Nine-Five Billion Naira (N263.95 billion) over the Executive’s proposal that was submitted in October 2019. We have examined the adjustments and may revert to the National Assembly with a request for a virement or other relevant amendments,” the President said.
He said the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning would make a public presentation of the details of the approved budget, adding that with today’s global oil market outlook and government’s strategic approach to revenue growth, he was sure the federal government would be able to finance the 2020 Budget.
“However, being a deficit budget, an appropriate 2020 – 2022 borrowing plan will be forwarded to the National Assembly, in due course,” he said.
He said that he has directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and all Federal MDAs to ensure effective implementation of the 2020 Budget.
Speaking to State House correspondents, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan said when a budget starts from January through the 12 calendar months to December, the economy would receive a boost that will see more businesses and employment opportunities.
He said: “We also hope that this will support the private sector so well, we all know that the private sector employs much more than the government. So we are optimistic that the economy will receive a boost from this 2020 budget implementation
“We have also passed an amendment to the Production Sharing Contracts, PSCs that will also provide more revenues. We all know that the production sharing contracts were never available to fund our budget properly. In fact, in 2019, N350 billion was earmarked but we couldn’t get anything.
“Next year by the grace of God, because of the amendment, we are going to get close to $2 billion and that is going to be a marked difference from what it used to be. So we are going to work on revenue generation, collection and remittance.
”Once we are able to get our revenues, we are all determined on both sides to ensure that budget 2020 is implemented fully and we believe the public will be in support of this.”
Also speaking, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said to monitor the implementation of the budget a straightforward as there were work committees in place in both houses.
He said: “We have a year to monitor; from January to December. There is investors’ confidence now and there will be oversight confidence.
“Everybody has the passion to work, everybody has the good of Nigeria at heart, it’s just a question of being in the right, enabling environment, having harmony between the two arms; the Executive and Legislature. It’s not uncommon.
“Many are wont to criticize that because we have a lot of naysayers; many will say we are rubber-stamps. On the other hand, others will say the budget has come out with higher figures. So which one is it? Are we rubber-stamped or are we doing what we are supposed to do as a legislature?
“There will always be naysayers, but we will continue to do what we need to do as the legislature and the executive will continue to do what they do and the harmony between the two, guess who benefits. It’s not the legislature; it’s not the executive, but the Nigerian people.”
