Budget defence: FG pleads for retention of N1.8trn for capital projects 

Minister of budget and national planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, has called for the retention of N1.8 trillion, about 30 percent of the total budget proposal earmarked for capital projects, by the National Assembly, saying the country cannot afford to make the same mistake of the past where only 10 percent were allocated to that component.

Making this appeal when his ministry appeared before the joint houses of the National Assembly to defend his ministry’s 2016 budget proposals, the minister said the country had found itself in a challenging position hence the need to use the 2016 budget as solutions to address the economic crisis.

“We want to move from the past administration’s faulty traditional ways of managing our economy without development strides,” the minister said.

While responding on the fate of 2016 budget in the face of present fall in oil prices, Udoma said: “We are working hard to expand fully the nation’s revenues base away from oil base. Government has set achievable targets to all revenues generating agencies. We must collect all revenues that is due and increase tax coverage areas. We have set Treasury Single Account that is blocking corruption loopholes and checking revenue leakages.”

Making a case also on increase in capital budget allocation, Zainab Ahmed, minister of state for budget and national planning, further explained that “a reasonable and sizeable increase in capital allocation for improvement and provision of key infrastructure is required to reflate the economy and help the productive sector to grow our economy, especially the small scale enterprises.”

Earlier, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, chairman, Senate Committee on Budget, Planning and Economic Affairs, assured that his Committee would do justice on the budget and would also ensure that every naira budgeted would be utilised for the benefit of all Nigerians.

 KEHINDE ABDULSALAM