Oscarline Onwuemenyi
15 December 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presented N7.298 trillion 2017 budget, bench-marking the appropriation bill at N305 against one US dollar and the oil benchmark at $42.50. The document also projected 2.2 million barrels as daily oil production.
The budget, which is 20.4 per cent bigger than that of 2016, has earmarked 30.7 per cent for capital expenditure “to pull the economy out of recession”, even as the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing got the lion share of N520 billion for capital projects.
Buhari, while presenting the budget before a joint sitting of the National Assembly, said; “We will continue to fortify our defence spending till all our enemies within and without are subdued.
“The people who voted for us are waiting for us to change the course of this nation,” he noted.
He also said that “In 2017, we will focus on the development of infrastructure, especially rail, road and power.”
A breakdown of the budget shows that provision for capital expenditure is N2.24tn. Health took 51 billion, Industry took 81 billion while Defense took 140 million.
The President further stated, “We are increasing funding to the judiciary in order to allow them function even better.”
Buhari said he expects the 2017 budget to better the lives of Nigerians in a greater measure than that of 2016.
The Federal government benchmarked the budget at N305 per dollar, as against N197 to the greenback budgeted in 2016.
The N7.298 trillion budget also sets a benchmark of $42.5 per barrel of oil, as against $38 in 2016.
The budget, which is 20.4 percent bigger than that of 2016, has earmarked 30.7 percent for capital expenditure “to pull the economy out of recession.”
Again, the ministry of power, works and housing have the lion share of the budget, at N520 billion for capital projects.
The amnesty programme, which was slashed to N20bn in 2016, leading to unrest in the Niger Delta, has been tripled in the 2017 budget.
“The allocation of the presidential amnesty programme has been increased to N65 billion in 2017 budget. Furthermore, N45 billion in funding has been provisioned in funding for the rehabilitation of the northeast,” Buhari said.
Buhari said the school feeding programme has commenced in a few states, and the verification of caterers is still ongoing in some states of the federation.
The ministry of agriculture is also getting a record-high of N92 billion, while the ministry of interior will boast of a capital expenditure allocation N63 billion.
He commended the National Assembly for its commitment to steering the country from recession to sustainable growth while focusing on using local labour and local raw materials.