Buhari presents N7.298tr budget to N/Assembly *Pegs Exchange Rate At N305 To 1 USDP, Oil Bench Mark At $42.5

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presented  2017 budget estimate of expenditure totaling N7.298 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly, tagging it a budget of Recovery and Growth.

The estimate presented by the President is in line with the Medium Term Expenditure Fremework which the Senate approved a day earlier.

Buhari said the 2017 Budget is based on a benchmark crude oil price of US$42.5 per barrel; as well as an oil production estimate of 2.2 million barrels per day; while the exchange rate is pegged at N305 to the US dollar.

He said the aggregate revenue available to fund the federal budget is N4.94 trillion, 28% higher than 2016 full year projections.

He said revenue from oil is projected to contribute N1.985 trillion for funding the budget

According to the 2017 budget estimate, the non-oil revenues, comprising Companies Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Customs and Excise duties, and Federation Account levies are to contribute N1.373 trillion.

The budget also indicates a projection of N807.57 billion for Independent Revenues with a projected receipts of N565.1 billion from various Recoveries. Other revenue sources, including mining, amount are expected to contribute the sum of N210.9 billion.

Break down of the Budget as presented by the President is indicated below;

Statutory transfers of N419.02 billion;

Debt service of N1.66 trillion;

Sinking fund of N177.46 billion to retire certain maturing bonds;

Non-debt recurrent expenditure of N2.98 trillion; and

Capital expenditure of N2.24 trillion (including capital in Statutory Transfers).

However, the N7.298 trillion budget, according to the President constitute an increase of 20.4% over 2016 estimates.

He said 30.7% of the budget will be for capital in line with determination by the government to reflate and pull the economy out of recession.

He said, “This fiscal plan will result in a deficit of N2.36 trillion for 2017 which is about 2.18% of GDP.  The deficit will be financed mainly by borrowing which is projected to be about N2.32 trillion. Our intention is to source N1.067 trillion or about 46% of this borrowing from external sources while, N1.254 trillion will be borrowed from the domestic market”
President Buhari indicated a good fiscal year for the Judiciary as he announced an increased the budgetary allocation to it to the tune of N70 billion to N100 billion. The increase in funding according to him is meant to enhance the independence of the judiciary and enable them to perform their functions effectively.
On Recurrent Expenditure, the president said a significant portion has been provisioned for the payment of salaries and overheads in institutions that provide critical public services.

The budgeted amounts for recurrent expenditure according to Ministries and agencies are;

*N482.37 billion for the Ministry of Interior;

*N398.01 billion for Ministry of Education;

*N325.87 billion for Ministry of Defence; and

*N252.87 billion for Ministry of Health.

The President said his government would intensify efforts towards eliminating ghost workers from the government’s payroll.

To this effect, the said adequate provision had been made in the 2017 Budget to ensure all personnel that are not enrolled on the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System platform are captured.

The president identified key capital projects to be funded in the 2017 budget as;

*Power, Works and Housing:              N529 billion;

*Transportation:                                   N262 billion;

*Special Intervention Programmes:    N150 billion.

*Defence:                                             N140 billion;

*Water Resources:                               N85 billion;

*Industry, Trade and Investment:        N81 billion;

*Interior:                                               N63 billion;

*Education                                           N50 billion

*Universal Basic Education Commission:   N92 billion

*Health:                                                 N51 billion

*Federal Capital Territory:                   N37 billion;

*Niger Delta Ministry:                          N33 billion; and

*Niger Delta Development Commission: N61 billion;

The President said the sum of N100 billion has been provided in the Special Intervention programme as seed money into the N1 trillion Family Homes Fund that will underpin a new social housing programme.

According to him, the expenditure is expected to stimulate construction activity throughout the country.

He said efforts to fast-track the modernization of our railway system would receive further boost through the allocation of N213.14 billion as counterpart funding for the Lagos-Kano, Calabar-Lagos, Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Warri railway, and Kaduna-Abuja railway projects.

“As I mentioned earlier, in 2016, we invested a lot of time ensuring the paper work is done properly while negotiating the best deal for Nigeria. I must admit this took longer than expected but I am optimistic that these projects will commence in 2017 for all to see,” he said.