• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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2019 budget assumptions unrealistic – Senators 

Senate-chamber
Senators have described the assumptions of the N8.83 trillion 2019 appropriation bill as unrealistic.
The development comes as the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has referred the 2019 to 2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the Senate Committee on Finance and report back on next Wednesday.
At the Second Reading and debate on budget principles on the budget, lawmakers faulted the $60 per barrel oil price benchmark as well as the 2.3 million barrels daily oil production estimate.
They submitted that due to uncertainty in daily oil production output and oil price volatility, the estimates are not realistic.
In his contribution, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, expressed concerns over the government’s borrowing plans to fund the N1.86 trillion budget deficit, which constitutes 1.3 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
He called for more creative ways of funding budgets without resorting to borrowing.
“We must therefore be cautious. Yes, it is important that we address our infrastructural needs through appropriate financing but I believe there are other creative ways of funding these infrastructures including Public Private Partnership and concessioning.
“For us to depend on borrowing means that we are putting our future in jeopardy. And therefore, it is time for us to ensure that our debt to GDP ratio must not exceed acceptable level”, he said.
The lawmaker also called for a return to the January to December budget cycle in line with Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He expressed concern that the average period of passing the budget in the Eighth Senate is May, a development he described as worrisome.
While calling on his colleagues to pass the budget on time, Ekweremadu also stressed the need for early submission of the proposal to allow for early approval and take advantage of the dry season.
“The implication of what is happening now is that the Executive consistently has brought the budget quite late, usually towards the end of December or shortly before we leave on break in December. And that makes it impossible for the National Assembly to consider this until sometime into January. And this year it is even going worse because we had to go into election. So, the implication is that budget will be delayed, and even the implementation starts late. And when you pass budget in May, for instance, you are passing just at the verge of the raining season. And Nigeria is a developing country. We need a lot of infrastructural development which can only take place during the dry season,” he said.
BusinessDay reports that the budget which was presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2018, has an exchange rate of N305/$; real GDP growth of 3.01% and Inflation Rate of 9.98%.
Also contributing, the Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi), allayed the fears on borrowing, noting that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was still very low, as already acknowledged by experts.
According to him, the budget should be adjusted to give adequate attention to even distribution of wealth among Nigerians.
“The National Assembly should set aside a date to look at agricultural funding in Nigeria because nothing is a critical as providing food for Nigerians,” he stated.
In his submission, Albert Bassey (PDP, Akwa Ibom) described the N2.14 trillion earmarked for debt servicing as worrisome.
He also expressed concern over the high volatility of the oil market, even as he called for more efforts at diversification of the nation’s economy.
Saraki who presided over the session announced postponement of further debate on the budget till Tuesday.

 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja