The federal government has hinted
that President Muhammadu Buhari will present the 2019 budget to the National
Assembly when the legislature reconvenes in September.
Minister of State for Budget and
National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, explained that this was to restore the January
to December budget cycle.
“Our aspirations is that we want
to meet the requirements of the law to submit it by September but as you know
the National assembly is itself away on recess and they resume by September”,
she told Daily Trust.
The Minister disclosed that the
N1.56 trillion spent by the federal government on capital projects was the
highest amount ever spent on capital projects in the history of Nigeria.
According to her, the federal
government released 60 per cent of the total N2.2 trillion budgeted for capital
projects in 2017, the highest value ever.
The Minister said the 2017 budget
did well as the country executed 100 per cent of the personnel component,
ensuring that salaries and pensions were paid, including pension arrears.
Ahmed noted that despite the fact
that production did not go up to the 2.3 million barrels per day projected for
the year, oil and gas sector revenue hit 95 per cent largely due to increase in
oil price in the international market.
“Non-oil revenue performance was
not as high as we had expected.
“Because of the recession, a lot
of businesses were struggling and couldn’t perform as they should and getting
taxes will be as a result of the profit declared by companies.
“Taxes collected are also
indicative of the performance of businesses in the economy,” the Minister said.
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