•Civil societies, citizens rights advocates hail action

The Federal Government for the first time has published the 2024 budgets of its 63 government-owned enterprises (GOEs) in a major move to open them up to scrutiny.

It was the first time the government would publicly make available the income and expenditure profiles of its GOEs.

Civil societies, anti-corruption groups and citizens’ rights advocates yesterday hailed the decision to publish the budget estimates as an “unprecedented” first-of-its-kind step to increased transparency and accountability.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday signed the N28.78 trillion 2024 Appropriation Act with a warning to ministers and GOEs that anyone impeding effective budget implementation will be removed.

Tinubu assured that the 2024 budget will signal a major change for the country in terms of implementation, monitoring and evaluation, with the MDAs and GOEs expected to provide regular periodic budget assessments and performance reports. The N28.78 trillion 2024 budget, which implementation started immediately after the presidential assent, included N1.74 trillion statutory transfer; N8.77 trillion recurrent expenditure; N9.99 trillion capital expenditure; and N8.27 trillion debt service.

Major budget assumptions included an exchange rate of N800 per dollar, 1.78mbpd daily oil production, a $77.96 oil benchmark price and a GDP growth rate of 3.88 per cent.

Spokesperson for BudgIT, Nancy Odimegwu, commended the government for the unprecedented step toward transparency as this was the first time the government would be acceding to public clamour for insights into the budgets of the major agencies and enterprises.

BudgIT, a prominent civic-tech organisation that often coordinates activities of civil and citizens’ economic rights advocates, noted that disclosing the proposed 2024 GOEs’ budget was crucial in spotlighting these revenue-generating entities.

The GOEs included headlining agencies at the ports, airports, financial services regulations, export processing and management, Customs, immigration, standards and drug regulations, communications, railways, oil and gas, education and corporate regulation.

These included Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Insurance Commission (Naicom), National Pension Commission (Pencom), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Others included the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board among others.

A review of the published estimates obtained by The Nation provided a glimpse into the viability and operational capability of several GOEs.

Sources in the know yesterday said the government was disposed to providing further details about the GOEs’ activities as part of open governance and accountability promised by Tinubu.

They said the publication of the budget estimates, and additional information on key expenditure headlines and monthly budget reports, will put the GOEs under intense pressure to block leakages and optimise operational efficiency.

They noted that the budget publications and performance reports may headline further reforms in GOEs during the year.

While several GOEs proposed to generate more revenue than expenditure, others depended largely on the government to supplement the wide deficit between income and expenditure. For instance, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, with a proposed revenue of N13.37 billion, is expected to spend N454.81 billion. National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (Notap), which projected revenue of N725.57 million estimated expenditure at N1.27 billion.

Odimegwu urged the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Budget Office of the Federation to continue in their effort to ensure transparency in the use and allocation of government resources.

“We anticipate that the Ministry will make public comprehensive details of the 2024 Approved Budget to keep citizens informed and empowered to engage with the government across all levels,” BudgIT stated. (The Nation)

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