Nigeria’s 2018 budget will be transmitted to the National Assembly by October to ensure a speedy passage, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, said Thursday.
Authorities target the 2018 budget will be the first full-year budget and fully aligned with the objectives/priorities of the ERGP following the finalization of that document. The 2017 budget was passed six month into the fiscal year, following in the steps of the previous budget. The delay exacerbated the country’s first economic recession since 1999.
Series of haggling between the executive and legislative arms of government had scuttled a speedy passage of the budget. The delay came at a cost too heavy for the economy, already hammered by a plunge in oil revenues and decreipt infrastructure. Osinbajo signed the 2017 budget this week in the absence of sick President Muhammadu Buhari who is out in London for medical care. His ailment is undisclosed.
“Going forward, we have agreed with the National Assembly leadership on the necessity to get Nigeria back onto a predictable January to December fiscal year. To achieve this, the 2018 Budget needs to get to the National Assembly no later than early October so that the National Assembly can conclude work on it before the end of the year,” Osinbajo stated in Abuja at a meeting during which he flagged off preparatory activities for the 2018 Budget based on the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
He stressed the need for direct involvement of Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of government agencies in the preparation of their respective establishments’ budgets.
He said Ministers and Permanent Secretaries must take responsibility to ensure that as much as possible part of their N7.44 trillion 2017 Budget is implemented between now and December.
“They are also to be personally involved in the process for the preparation of the 2018 Budget to ensure that we meet the deadline of submitting it to the National Assembly by early October 2017”, he said.
Osinbajo also charged MDAs to fast-track the implementation of the 2017 Budget to make up for the lost time and to deliver on expectations, which according to him, also means they have to work faster on procurement issues and effectively manage scarce resources.
Both the Acting President and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who addressed Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and head of government agencies spoke of the need to reinvigorate the budget preparation process and ensure that the 2018 and subsequent national budgets are ready for implementation by January of the budget year.
Tuesday session was aimed at sensitizing all top government functionaries and other stakeholders on the ERGP Implementation Roadmap and the critical guidelines for the preparation of the 2018 Budget, to ensure that the 2018 budget is fully aligned with the ERGP.
He pointed out that Personnel Costs have continued to be a source of budgetary pressure and therefore tasked all MDAs to collaborate with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as well as the Ministry of Finance, in their efforts to ensure that only legitimate employees are on the payroll, including full implementation of the IPPIS.
He also tasked the top government functionaries to pay serious attention to the revenue side of the budget as we need to improve on revenue generation for the funding of the budget.
Meanwhile¸Udoma will present the breakdown of the just-signed 2017 Budget to the general public on Monday, June 19, 2017 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Abuja.
At the meeting, he reminded the officials that the 2018 Personnel Budget Call Circular had been issued to them since April this year and that work has already commenced on the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework /Fiscal Strategy Paper(MTEF/FSP).
Udoma said the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007 prescribes certain deadlines for Budget related activities, which government must endeavour to comply with.
These objectives, he said, are particularly important for a government which has a change agenda. “Delayed national budgets are generally considered as indicative of poor public financial management which is not good for the image of the Government”, he pointed out.
Nigeria plans to spend N7.4 trillion this year, in a bid to restore economic growth. The budget is less than 6 percent of the country’s GDP, prompting analysts to conclude that private capital will be needed to lift Africa’s largest economy.
ONYINYE NWACHUKWU
