The Federal Government, on Wednesday, disclosed plans to expend the sum of N4.88 trillion for payment of the new national minimum wage and other personnel costs in the 2020 fiscal year.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this during the National budget public hearing on the 2020 budget estimates at the joint session held at the instance of the Senate and House of Representatives, informed the lawmakers of the present administration’s projected investment of N10.33 trillion into Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs/Bilateral/Multilateral project tied loans/expenditures).

President Muhammadu Buhari had on October 8 unveiled the 2020 Budget proposal before a joint session of the National Assembly.

For the proposed budget deficit for 2020 was pegged at N2.175 trillion (1.52% of the GDP), is expected to be funded mainly by borrowing of N1.594 trillion, comprising of N744.99 billion domestic sources and N850 billion foreign sources (more concessionary financing against commercial financing arrangement).

On debt servicing, Federal Government proposed the sum of N2.5 trillion representing 23.74% of target expenditure for the incoming fiscal year and N296 billion for the retirement of maturing bond to local contractors, representing an increase of 169.09% from N110 billion for 2019.

Mrs Ahmed who affirmed that the country achieved 58% of its revenue target as at second quarter of 2019 fiscal year, explained that the success was largely because some one-off items such as the N10 billion from Oil Joint Venture Asset restructuring and N320 billion from revision of the Oil Production Sharing Contract legislation/terms are yet to be actualised.

Breakdown of the actual revenue accrued to government’s coffer between January and June 2019 showed that total sum of N900 billion (49%) was from Oil revenue; N349.11 billion (86%) from Company income tax; N81.36 billion (71%) from Value Added Tax while N184.10 billion (100.47%) was from Customs Collections.

“Fiscal deductions by NNPC for federally funded projects also exceeded target.”

Of the total appropriation of N8.92 trillion, the sum of N3.39 trillion had been spent as at June 2019 against the prorated expenditure of N4.58 trillion, representing 76% performance while N294.63 billion had been released for capital projects as at 30th September, 2019, despite late signing of the budget on the 27th May, 2019.

According to her, the 2019 actual GDP stands at 2.02% against the proposed 3.01% in the budget; 1.86mbpd of oil production against 2.3mbpd; $67.2 per barrel against the proposed $60 per barrel while the actual inflation rate stands at 11.4% against proposed 9.98% and exchange rate stands at N305.9/$ against the proposed N305/$ at half-year.

While speaking on the 2020 budget estimates reflects the adjustments to the MTEF/FSP with respect to the oil benchmark price of $57 per barrel from $55 per barrel and Customs revenue target raised to N1.5 trillion, an increase of N557.4 billion of which N235.5 billion is available to fund Federal Government’s budget. (Nigerian Tribune)

Update news