Barring last-minute changes, members of the National Economic Team are expected to meet with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance over the proposed 2018 budget estimates, Monday, 27th November 2017.
The meeting is expected to hold 24 hours ahead of a debate on the general principles of the N8.612 trillion budget estimates presented by President Muhammadu Buhari penultimate week to the joint session of the National Assembly.
According to Yussuff Lasun, deputy speaker of the House who presided over last week’s plenary sessions had directed all the lawmakers to pick copies of the 2018 Budget and other relevant documents from the office of the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations with the view to get acquainted with the proposals and help them to make inputs during the 3-day debate.
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According to the key assumptions on the macro framework, total oil production is pegged at 2.51 million barrels per day while budget oil production volume net incremental was pegged at 2.3mbpd; $45 oil benchmark; while the exchange rate was pegged at N305/$ for 2018 fiscal year.
As contained in the revised MTEF/FSP transmitted to the National Assembly, the sum of N350 billion proposed for special interventions (recurrent); N2,597,246,628,719 is for capital expenditure for 2018 while deficit is pegged at N2,948,777,905,500 (2.61percent) against N113,088,878,152,768 GDP.
The sum of N306 billion is expected from privatisation proceeds and N5 billion from the sale of other government property to part-finance the reviewed budget deficit of N2.05 trillion down by over N940 billion, thereby pushing the debt/GDP ratio from 2.61percent to 1.77percent.
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On the expenditure for the incoming year, National Judicial Council is to get N100 billion; Universal Basic Education (UBE) is to get N104,063,630,055; INEC is to get N45.5 billion; National Assembly is to get N125 billion; Public Complaint Commission is to get N4.2 billion; Human Rights Commission is to get N1.5 billion in 2018.
From total sum of N2,028,011,577,001 proposed for debt servicing, the sum of N1,764,125,038,534 is for domestic debt; N263,886,538,467 is for foreign debt while the sum of N220 billion is for sinking fund to retire maturing bond for local contractors.
From the total sum of N3,169,117,545,129 for recurrent expenditure, out of which N65 billion is for amnesty programme; N2,122,268,415,101 is for personnel cost of Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) while overhead worth N245,200,853,273.
The fiscal deficit is to be maintained at 3percent level as stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 but at an average of about 1.93percent of GDP, but declining to less than one per cent by 2020.
From other adjustments on the MTEF/FSP, the sum of N710 billion is expected from the restructuring government’s equity in all the Joint Venture oil assets; N320 billion additional revenues from a revision of terms to improve Government take in the Production Sharing Contracts; additional N60 billion from Excise Duties on cigarettes and alcohol; N305 billion additional Company Income Taxes from the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAlDS); N100 billion from improvements by FIRS in the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT); N2.5 billion from special taxes on the insurance of luxury cars, as well as a surcharge on luxury goods and N250 billion provision as unspent balance carried forward from 2017.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
