…As FEC approves N583m consultancy for data management
Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, yesterday, revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari, was yet to receive the 2018 budget said to have been transmitted to him for assent one week after it was passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Udoma disclosed this while responding to enquiries from State House Correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by the President.
Udoma expressed concerns the delay in transmitting the budget to the President would have negative impact on the economy, even though the government was ready to cushion the shocks that might arise from the delay. He denied media report quoting him as saying Buhari would not sign the budget.
He said, “the President is yet to receive the budget. It is, therefore, impossible to make a statement about the budget that has not been received. Once we get it, we will work very quickly on it. When it is submitted, I am sure the National Assembly itself will inform Nigerians,” Udoma said.
The Budget Minister noted that despite challenges, the economy was looking up with a current GDP growth rate of 1.95percent in the first quarter of 2018.
According to him, the GDP of the economy would hit the 3.5 per cent mark despite the shortcomings by the fourth quarter of 2018, adding that the foreign reserves were also growing at a steady pace standing at $47 billion as at May 2018. Both chambers of the National Assembly had on May 16, 2018 approved the budget estimates submitted by Buhari on November 7, 2017. The lawmakers also raised the total figure from N8.6 trillion to N9.1 trillion, six months after it was presented.
Meanwhile the Senate on Wednesday approved the conference committee report of the 2018 appropriation bill.
The upper legislative chamber approved it after Danjuma Goje, chairman of the appropriation committee, moved for its consideration.
Goje said the conference committee harmonised some words and phrases in the bill that were not the same when both chambers of the National Assembly passed it last week.
“The House version clause 10, introduced a new clause, condition for foreign loan,” he said. In November, President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly a proposed sum of N8.6 trillion for budget 2018.
He proposed N3.5 trillion as recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while N2.4 trillion was earmarked for capital expenditure. But the National Assembly raised the budget by N500 billion to N9.1 trillion. The oil benchmark was also increased from $45 to $51 per barrel.