1. Mr. President, on behalf of my
colleagues, Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, I welcome you and members
of your Executive team to this joint session of the National Assembly.
2. What a delight it is to see
you looking so well and rejuvenated, Mr. President. We are most grateful to God
for your revived state of health in this period of national recovery, and we
pray it continues. Let me use this opportunity to thank all those Members of
the National Assembly that put the country first and resisted the urge to play
politics during Mr. President’s time away.
3. It is pleasing to note that
the budget is being presented earlier than December. This is a welcome
development.
4. I must commend Mr. President,
the Economic Management Team, my Distinguished colleagues and Honourable
members of the House of Representatives as well as all Nigerians, for working
together to make the necessary sacrifices to get the economy out of recession.
Without doubt, this recovery benefitted from greater policy coordination,
prioritization and passage of economic reform bills, but more importantly, the
resilience of the Nigerian people. Having said that, it is pertinent to note
that the implementation of the 2018 Budget – how it is implemented – will be a
defining element of this Administration. We must therefore continue to work
together to steady the ship of this recovery.
5. As the country gradually
recovers, it is important to reset the fundamentals that drive our economy – so
we do not slide back into recession. We must reassess the relationship between
oil and our economy. Oil prices are gradually inching up, but that is no reason
for complacency in our diversification drive. We must grow our economy away
from oil – as well as the need to increase non-oil revenue generation and
collection.
6. Revenue from taxes as well as
independent revenues from State Owned Enterprises must be taken seriously. If
the budget is to be funded, we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to revenue
under-performance. While there is a need to review extant laws guiding the
operation of some Government enterprises, I would urge for more determined
effort on the part of the Executive, to plug leakages. This sector alone
accounts for over 40 trillion naira in valuation, of which less than 400
billion naira is remitted as revenue to the Consolidated Federation Account.
This is not acceptable. We need to vigorously address this area.
7. The budgets of parastatals and
agencies are meant to be submitted with this budget presentation, as stipulated
by the constitution. We must work to ensure that these are passed by the end of
the year, and sanction those parastatals and agencies that fail to submit their
budget along with the 2018 budget, and deny access to capital expenditure
unless budget is passed.
8. Further to the area of
increasing independent revenue, there is the need to review agreements that
government has signed with some private sector service providers. Many of these
agreements are biased, and clearly, not in the interest of the country.
9. We appreciate the need to
spend, Mr. President. However, we must ensure that our borrowing is targeted at
productive projects that will stimulate the economy. We must ensure real
value-for-money in projects funded by borrowing, and make doubly sure that the
projects are not overpriced.
10. To ensure consistency in
government’s economic programmes and tax policies, we will be requiring that
the submission of the 2018 Budget – and budget submissions going forward – be
accompanied by a Finance Bill. This bill – which should clearly detail the
imposition, alteration or regulation of taxes such as the proposed tax on
luxury items and excise taxes, among others – will put the financial proposals
of government into effect.
11. As we are all aware, many
businesses were adversely affected by the recession; many lost their means of
livelihood. As the country emerges from that period of uncertainty, the
question on the lips of many Nigerians has been this: How does the recovery
translate into tangible economic benefits for me? We must remember that the
real gains must be felt on a personal level by the individual, for economic
recovery to have meaning. People are seeking to get back to work but cannot
find jobs. Entrepreneurs want to restart their businesses but are finding it
difficult to access the needed capital. As for our farmers, the last thing they
want is for produce to go to waste because people cannot afford to buy.
12. Looking around today, we see
that many of our undergraduates are apprehensive about their graduation day;
and our National Youth Corps members are not looking forward to the end of the
service year, for fear of being tagged ‘unemployed’. While I commend your
current efforts at tackling unemployment – especially among the youth through
Federal Youth Programmes such as YouWin, N-Power, and YES-Programme –
deliberate steps must be taken to make the 2018 budget a job oriented one.
13. In line with that, we must
see to the implementation of the Procurement law, with particular relevance to
the part that has to do with support for Made-In-Nigeria goods. The
implementation of the 2018 budget must anchor on the Made-In-Nigeria project.
This should be reflected in government procurements in 2018.
14. As we strive to start
implementing the budget from January, all would be in vain if we do not
eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and speed up the procurement process. We are
working towards reviewing the Procurement Act to achieve this.
15. Also, government should
continue to create the enabling environment for private sector businesses to
thrive through its policies and spending priorities. As we pat ourselves on the
back that Nigeria has made a quantum leap, going up 24 places in the World Bank
Ease of Doing Business ranking, we cannot rest on our laurels. There is a need
to complement reforms in the ease of doing business with targeted spending on
those critical infrastructure projects that enhance economic activity and job
creation.
16. In view of this, we must move
beyond budgetary provisions without adequate funding available for the
execution of projects – and ensure that selection of contractors, as well as
the release of funds, are transparent. We must therefore make project completion
a top priority, especially those projects that directly impact the lives of our
people.
17. On our part, the 8th National
Assembly is standing firm on its objective of expanding economic opportunities
through economic reform bills that we have prioritized. Some of these are
beginning to affirm the vision of reforms that we need in order to move our
country forward.
18. Let me now talk about
mainstreaming social inclusion. Mr. President, each and every Nigerian wants to
be part of the economic progress. We must never lose sight of the need for
equity and balanced development across the entire spread of our country.
Infrastructural development should be seen to be well distributed, to create
growth pools away from the major city centres and drive the regeneration of our
rural areas. Agriculture, for instance, is meaningless without those that will
engage in farming in the countryside. The current rate of rural-to-urban
migration is alarming and unsustainable – congesting the cities and stretching
resources to breaking point, while undermining the economic viability of some
states. People must be able to see a future for themselves in every corner of
this country, not just in the big cities.
19. Mr. President, there are big
ticket projects like Power, Rail and A-Trunk roads, but also, there are smaller
projects which impact people’s lives. We must do both. Those in charge should
ensure proper execution or face sanction.
20. It is important that I
emphasize that the presentation of the budget should in no way dampen
enthusiasm for the implementation of the 2017 Budget. Whatever needs to be done
to ensure that we achieve close to full implementation of the budget, is what
must be done.
21. As I close, Mr. President, I
would like to advise and caution that there is no better time in this
Administration than now for a rigorous drive for good working relationship
between the Executive and the Legislature. The early passage of the 2018 budget
will depend on this good working relationship. The passage of important Executive
bills that improve ‘ease of doing business’ is also dependent on this. So, Mr.
President, the 469 Members in this chamber are your true partners that will
ensure the success of your administration in achieving its goals and
objectives. So, lobby them (not the PDP way), close ranks and let them work for
you.
22. Let me assure Mr. President
that, in considering the 2018 Budget proposal, the National Assembly will work
with your team, as we are convinced that more can be achieved together.
23. On this note, I hereby invite
Your Excellency to deliver your speech and lay the 2018 Budget proposal for the
consideration of the National Assembly, in accordance with Section 81 of the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
24. I thank you all for your
attention.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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