Presidency slashes 2017 budget by N3bn

…. Proposes N4.9bn for Villa maintenance, N100m for bullet proof tyres

The Presidency has slashed its 2017 budget by N3billion. Permanent Secretary of the State House, Jalal Arabi, informed the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs that this was due to dwindling government revenue.

According to him, the budget cut in 2016 from N16.563billion  to N13.567billion  in 2017 represents 18.08 percent reduction in comparison with the sum appropriated last year.

Arabi, while defending the 2017 State House budget proposal before lawmakers, told the committee that despite its decision to cut down on the this year annual total budget, an increase was however made particularly to routine maintenance of villa facilities, electricity charges and overhead expenditures.

He explained that some factors such as exchange rate and inflationary trends were responsible for the increase to the items contained in this year’s proposal.

“In 2017, we have considered some of these factors including exchange rate and inflationary trends, and humbly proposed a modest provision of N4.9 billion for same services and beyond”, he said.

Giving reasons behind increase in funding for electricity payment, Arabi explained that the sum of N45.3 million which was approved in 2016 budget, was increased to N319.6 million in 2017 to cover current and outstanding bills which the insufficient sum appropriated in 2016 budget failed to cover.

He added that a total sum of N5.08 billion is being proposed for overhead expenditure in 2017 as against the 2016 appropriation of N3.85 billion.

Arabi further disclosed the amount proposed for capital was reduced from N11,140,852,010 in 2016 to N6.733billion  in 2017, while recurrent was increased from N5.422billion in 2016 to N6.834 billion this year.

Commenting, two members of the committee, Duro Faseyi and Joshua Lidani, expressed displeasure at the level of releases by the Ministry of Finance to the State House, pegged at N5.196 billion representing 46.64 percent.