Minister, experts disagree as fresh controversy trails 2016 budget

Perhaps, the Nigerian government had expected a pat on the back for its claims that it had spent about 41.1 per cent of the N6.06 trillion 2016 budget at the end of third quarter, but it got the opposite.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said that government had systemically released funds to the critical sectors as contained in the budget despite the biting recession that has made funds available in the country.

He told journalists in Lagos, on Monday, that the 2016 budget was being implemented on prorate basis, which had seen it achieve more than 70 per cent performance in the first three quarters of the year, which when compared with the same period in previous years gives government a pass mark.

Udoma admitted that the country has been passing through serious revenue shortfalls in the past one year, adding that it would be a question of time for it to re-bounce.

He said a total N1.45 trillion was for domestic and foreign debt services, but remained silent on recurrent expenditure.

Government also retained N44.52 billion for meeting its obligations, which include matured financial instruments, treasury bills and others.

But experts have faulted the claim by the government that it is running the budget towards early survival of the recession.

They maintained that majority of the funds so far released had gone into overhead costs and debt servicing, which would not help the economy in its present state.

Read also: Nigeria’s GDP contracts by 2.24% in Q3

An economist, Mr. Henry Moyo, said the only fast approach to reversing the economy is for policy makers to focus on creating values, which cannot be feasible if there is no emphasis on assisting the real sector to survive the recession.

Matthias Eboh, a business consultant, said there was still over-bloated workforce in the public sector, adding that the burden of over head costs on the budget cannot see it lead to a long term planning, which only capital expenditure can achieve in a down economy.

He also faulted the purchase of fleet of exotic cars by the National Assembly for its members as a wrong signal to potential investors into the Nigerian economy.

Other experts cautioned that government should see a way of making the 2017 budget , which is yet to be sent to the National Assembly, devoid of some of the provisions in the 2016 budget that have made it a non implementable bill.
By Emma Eke…

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