2019 Budget: Nigerians
2019 Budget: Nigerians should expect brighter future,
says Udoma
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo
Udoma, at the 2019 Budget Breakdown Session in Abuja on Tuesday
told Nigerians to be hopeful of a brighter future as the seeds of
development planted in the last four years are germinating and soon
will be bearing fruits.
While acknowledging the patience of Nigerians and the
contributions of critical stakeholders like the National Assembly,
the Media and other partners, to the development efforts of
government, Senator Udoma explained that an economy usually take
some time to build up momentum after a period of recession.
He added however that all indices point to the direction of
positive growth and the dividends will soon manifest with greater
impact as government continues to faithfully implement the
provisions of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which
underpins government’s economic recovery actions.
The Minister pointed to the fact that already the macro-economy
has remained largely stable and growth has increased from 0.82% in
2017 to 1.93% in 2018 and 3.01% is expected in 2019, with the
continuing implementation of the ERGP. “Real GDP increased from
1.89% in Q1 of 2018 to 2.01% in the first quarter of 2019 – the
strongest first quarter growth since 2015; Significant growth has
been recorded in the non-oil sector: 2..47% growth in Q1 2019, up
from 0.76% in Q1 2018 and diversification efforts have continued as
contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP increased from 90.4% in
Q1 2018 to 90.9% in Q1 2019”.
Senator Udoma said that a lot has been done by the Buhari
administration in the first four years and the second term will be
focused on building on the initiatives and development efforts
already put in place. “The 2019 budget is designed to further
reposition the economy on the path of higher, inclusive,
diversified and sustainable growth; and to continue to lift
significant numbers of our citizens out of poverty”.
The 2019 budget proposal was presented to the National Assembly
(NASS) by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 19, 2018; and
passed by the NASS on May 9, 2019. The President signed the budget
into law on Monday May 27, 2019. The total budget outlay for 2019
is N8.92 trillion.
According to him, the 2019 Budget seeks to continue the
reflationary and consolidation policies of the 2017 and 2018
Budgets respectively, which helped put the economy back on the path
of growth. On the expenditure side, allocations to Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Government were guided by the
three core objectives of the ERGP: Restoring and sustaining growth;
Investing in our people, and Building a globally competitive
economy.
Acknowledging that Nigeria faces significant challenges with
respect to revenue generation, he assured that government is taking
every necessary steps to tackle challenge. “Key reforms will be
implemented with increased vigour to improve revenue collection and
expenditure management. Mr. President is committed, and has
directed that all measures necessary be taken to ensure that we
grow rapidly while maintaining fiscal sustainability. To ensure
that this happens, the President set up a Projects and Programmes
Committee which has concluded its work. The initiatives developed
by this committee will be rolled out as the President enters his
second term.”
Government, he said, will continue to create the enabling
environment for the private sector to increase investment so as to
increase productivity, create jobs and stimulate further
growth.
To continue to fund the budget, the Minister said apart from
initiatives in other sectors, the Federal Government has also
sustained its efforts to improve public financial management
through the comprehensive implementation of the Treasury Single
Account (TSA), the Government Integrated Financial Management
Information System (GIFMIS) and the Integrated Payroll and
Personnel Information System (IPPIS). The President has also
directed that work should be concluded on the deployment of the
National Trade Window and other technologies to enhance Customs
collections efficiency.
Speaking on the adjustments made by the National Assembly, he
said:
Executive revenue assumptions were generally approved and adopted
by NASS, except for unexplained increases totalling N31.5 billion
on some non-oil revenue lines.
NASS increased the budget size from N8.83 trillion to N8.92
trillion, translating to an increase of N90.33 billion
This has resulted in an overall increase of N58.83 billion in
deficit. Inexplicably, NASS reduced the proposed borrowing from
N1.649 trillion to N1.605 trillion, thus creating an overall
unfunded deficit of N102.83 billion. To fully fund the budget, the
level of borrowing may therefore have to increase.
Allocations for some executive projects based on critical
appraisal and linked to the ERGP were reduced and a large number of
new projects, mainly constituency type projects, were
introduced.
Mr. President intends to engage the leadership of the ninth
National Assembly, as soon as it emerges, to effect any amendments
necessary to ensure he delivers on his electoral promises.
Mr. President also intends to seek the support of the leadership
of the NASS for a smoother, faster budget process going forward and
their collaboration to return to a January-December fiscal
year.
On the issue of unemployment, the Minister said although
statistics show that unemployment and underemployment remain high
in Nigeria, “we can expect reduction in the rate of unemployment as
we continue to implement the policies and programmes of the ERGP,
which are directed at creating more diversified and inclusive
growth. Mr President has indicated that the focus of his second
term will be employment generation,” he added.
Signed
Akpandem James