Presidency yet to get Budget 2017 from NASS

Nigeria’s Economic Management Team (EMT) on Monday looked at the different avenues for funding the 2017 appropriations bill.

This is even as the Presidency said it is still awaiting the official copy of the 2017 budget which was approved by the National Assembly last week.

The Spokesman for the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, told BusinessDay in Abuja that the despite not receiving a formal copy of the 2017 budget, the EMT is already looking at the funding options available so that it can commence immediate implementation.

According to him, a smaller committee had been constituted in the EMT to look at the issue of funding specifically for the 2017 fiscal year.

“The EMT discussed the funding of the budget so that we can hit the ground running, once we receive the budget formally and sign. That was what we discussed in relation to the budget.

“Revenues, loans etc. There are basically ongoing discussions. There is a smaller group in the EMT that is responsible for the funding and it is just an ongoing discussion” Akande said.

The National Assembly last week Thursday approved the 2017 budget of change and recovery raising it from an initial N7.28trillion to N7.44 trillion.

The appropriation document indicates that sources for the funding of the 2017 budget will come from Oil revenue from which they expect N1.985 trillion, non-oil revenue from which they expect N1.73 trillion as well as other federal government’s independent  revenues.

Last year, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma indicated that Nigeria will borrow more from foreign sources than locally to fund this year’s budget in a bid to benefit from lower debt costs and reduce pressure on its interest bill.

Apart from domestically generating funds to finance the budget for the 2017 fiscal year,  the Federal Government plans to borrow about N2.32 trillion.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in December while submitting the budget stated that the budget is to pull the country out of recession by spending 30.7 percent on capital expenditure.

The appropriation document indicates that sources for the funding ofthe 2017 budget will come from Oil revenue from which they expect N1.985 trillion, non-oil revenue from which they expect N1.73 trillion as well as other federal government’s independent  revenues.