Lawmakers plan N23.7b severance pay – TheNigerialawyer

Legislators raise estimates by N90b

SOME OF the figures

Ex-militants reintegration (N65b)
Zamfara intervention (N10b)
Basic Health Care (N51.219b)
Ex-Airways workers (N22.682b)
Ex-heads of state, others (N2b)
Military operations (N75b)
Northeast Intervention (N45b)
Zonal Intervention (N100b)
Legislative aides (N3b)
SENATors passed yesterday the N8.916 trillion 2019 Appropriation
Bill.

But the long expected approval of the budget raised little
excitement in the private sector. Reason: The organised Private
Sector (OPS) is not sure President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the
document, which has added N90 billion to his estimates.

Besides, said private sector operators, the passage of the bill,
few weeks to the end of the tenure of the administration, came
rather late.

The N8.916 trillion passed for the 2019 fiscal year is contrary
to the N8.826 trillion presented by President Buhari to a joint
session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2018.

The passage of the budget in the Senate followed the
consideration of the report of the Chairman, Senate Committee on
Appropriation, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje.

The figure was also passed by the House of Representatives
following the consideration of the report of the House Committee on
Appropriation.

The implication of passing the same figure by the two chambers
is that there will be no need for harmonisation.

The lawmakers jacked up the budget by N90 billion, including the
N10 billion approved for Zamfara State to be added to the Service
Wide Vote.

The Senate had in a motion resolved to approved N10 billion to
Zamfara to cushion the effects of humanitarian crisis arising from
sustained banditry in the state.

The lawmakers set aside the sum of N23,678,770,079 as severance
gratuity for outgoing legislators and legislative aides, allowances
for incoming legislators and legislative aides and induction
programme/inauguration of the ninth assembly.

The sum of N2,300,000,000 was also set aside for entitlement of
former presidents/heads of state and vice president/ Chief of
General Staff.

Payment of outstanding terminal benefits of Nigeria airways
retirees will gulp N22.682 billion while payment of outstanding
death benefit to civil servants/police will take
N5,000,000,000.

Group life insurance for all ministries, departments and
agencies, including Department of State Service (DSS),insurance of
sensitive assets/corpers and administration monitoring will take
N15,000,000,000.

Public service wage adjustment for MDAs (including arrears of
promotion and salary increases) and payment of severance benefits
to take N160,000,000,000.

Military operations, including Lafiya Dole and other operations
of the armed forces to gulp N75,000,000,000.

Settlement of MDAs electricity bills N5,000,000,000 while IPPIS
capturing will take N2,000,000,000.

The sum of N2,500,000,000 was earmarked for payment of
outstanding services while margin for increases in costs and
recurrent adjustment cost will take N4 billion.

Presidential Amnesty Programme: Reintegration of Transformed
ex-militants will gulp N65 billion.

The sum of N45 billion was allocated as Northeast Intervention
Fund while N100 billion is voted for zonal intervention
projects.

Service Wide training of budget/planning officers on GIFMIS
budget preparation system (BPS) as well as monitoring and
evaluation of all projects nationwide will take N2 billion while
N350 billion was voted for special intervention programme
(recurrent).

International sporting competitions N4 billion while Treasury
Single Account (TSA) operations will also take N4 billion.

The sum of N4 billion was earmarked for employee compensation
Act-employees compensation fund while contribution to international
organisations will take N20 billion.

The power sector reform programme (transfer to NBET) was
allocated N150.402 billion while N21.250 billion, N51.219 billion
was set aside for basic health care fund.

For additional support for universities, the sum of N15 billion
was earmarked.

Goje explained that the slight increase in the budget deficit as
a result of the provision for the severance benefits of the
outgoing legislators and legislative aides, the
induction/orientation and inauguration of the new legislators “all
of which occur once in four years but were inadvertently not
captured in the 2019 budget proposal.

He noted that there was also the need to provide more funds for
the security and intelligence agencies to deal with additional
emerging/unforeseen security challenges in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on December 19, 2018 laid before
a joint sitting of the National Assembly, the 2019 Appropriation
Bill, which contained the estimate of revenue and expenditure for
the 2019 fiscal year in the aggregate sum of N8,826,636,578,915
only.

The budget proposal, Buhari said, was aimed at consolidating the
Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of his administration.

The revenue projections for 2019 Budget as adopted from the
Medium Term Expenditure Framework/ Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP)
are:

Daily oil production 2.39mbpd; benchmark oil price $60pb;
exchange rate N305/USD,
Aggregate Expenditure (N8,906,964,099,373); Statutory Transfers
(N502,058,892,965);
Fiscal Deficit (N1,908,475,049,742); Special Intervention
N500,000,000,000; Recurrent Expenditure N2,094,950,709,632; Deficit
to GDP 1.37 per cent
The lawmakers passed the budget and adjourned plenary to May 6.

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