Crisis Looms As Senate Dismisses Buhari’s 2018 Budget

*Says budget contains unrealistic projections

The Senate, on Tuesday, berated the N8.612 trillion 2018 Budget, saying that it would end up like that of 2017. The Senate said that it was worried that the budget could be poorly implemented.

The Senate, while justifying its position, queried some critical projections used in the budget proposals as contained in the 2018 -2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper( FSP).

Specifically, the Red Chambers of the National Assembly, had expressed dismay over the omission by the executive arm on the budget, wherein it made revenue projection similar to the 2017 budget, which it said failed woefully in meeting its projection of N807bn independent revenue out of the N7.444trn it proposed.

Theseisues came to the fore when the Senate Committee on Finance, headed by Senator John Enoh ( APC Cross River Central ), held a meeting with government representatives.

The anomaly on projections in the proposed budget came when the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the Director General of Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze; and other top government officials in the financial sector made presentations on the MTEF document to members of the Senate’s Joint Committee on MTEF and FSP.

The minister also hinted that the government may not be able to meet its revenue projections fully in the next fiscal year, because of revenue shortfall since most of the agencies that generate revenue for the government have not been meeting up with what was expected of them.

A member of the Senate committee, Senator Ibrahim Danbaba (APC Sokoto South), had faulted the executive arm for making what he described as unrealistic revenue projections in its yearly budget proposals as contained in the MTEF, which was earlier presented to the National Assembly.

“For example, on independent revenue projections alone, in 2017, only N155bn have been realised out of the projected N807bn, representing 74% failure; and yet; as stated in the document, the same projection of N807bn is made for independent revenue generation in the 2018 budget estimates aside other unrealistic ones revenue from Value Added Tax, VAT, where the Federal Government had recorded 47% failure in the 2017 budget, etc.

“These yearly unrealistic projections are clearly responsible for poor budget implementation on yearly basis; and must be stopped in form of reviewing of the projections, ” he said.

Ahmed had earlier hinted the lawmakers of some some adjustments made in the MTEF and FSP documents before the 2018 budget estimates were presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

She said the adjustments basically bordered on the projected revenue for the 2018 budget which are N710bn from the restructuring government ‘s equity in all the Joint Venture oil assets (JV), N320bn additional projected revenues from revision of terms to improve government’s take in the Production Sharing Contracts.

Other adjustments, according to the minister, included additional N60bn from Excise Duties on Cigarettes and Alcohol, N305bn as additional Company Income Taxes, N100bn from improvements by FIRS in the collection of value added tax etc.

However, the DG Budget in his presentation, explained in details why $45 per barrel was proposed as oil price bench mark; N305 to a US dollar, exchange rate, 2.3mbpd oil production level , 12.42% projected average inflation rate etc.

The MTEF and FSP documents, it was gathered, are to be presented to the Senate for passage today or tomorrow as announced by the Senate President , Bukola Saraki.

Olufemi Samuel, Abuja