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In tandem with BusinessDay’s report, President Muhammadu Buhari is to present the 2018 budget proposal to the joint session of the National Assembly next Tuesday, 7th November, 2017.
According to the letter dated 1st November, 2017 titled: ‘Laying of the 2018 budget proposal before the National Assembly’, read by Speaker Yakubu Dogara during the Thursday’s plenary, the President is to address the joint session of the National Assembly by 2pm.
“Pursuant to section 81 of the 1999 constitution, may I crave the kind indulgence of the national Assembly to grant me the slot of 1400 hours of Tuesday, 7th November, 2017 to formally address a joint session and lay before the national Assembly the 2018 budget proposal,” the President urged in the one page letter.
According to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper transmitted earlier by the President to National Assembly, the aggregate expenditure for 2018 fiscal year is N8.60 trillion against N7.44 trillion, showing a difference of N1.16 trillion or 15.5 percent for the 2017 Appropriation Act.
Total sum of N6,128,290,144,686 is expected from oil sector while N5,596,745,945,657 is expected from non-oil subsector for the incoming year.
Total sum of N350 billion proposed for special interventions (recurrent); N2,597,246,628,719 is for capital capital expenditure for 2018 while deficit is pegged at N2,948,777,905,500 (2.61%) against N113,088,878,152,768 GDP.
The total oil production is pegged at 2.51 million barrels per day while budget oil production volume net incremental was pegged at 2.3mbpd; $45 oil benchmark; while exchange rate was pegged at N305/$ for 2018 fiscal year.
On the expenditure for the incoming year, National Judicial Council is to get N100 billion; Universal Basic Education (UBE) is to get N104,063,630,055; INEC is to get N45.5 billion; National Assembly is to get N125 billion; Public Complaint Commission is to get N4.2 billion; Human Rights Commission is to get N1.5 billion in 2018.
From total sum of N2,028,011,577,001 proposed for debt servicing, the sum of N1,764,125,038,534 is for domestic debt; N263,886,538,467 is for foreign debt while the sum of N220 billion is for sinking fund to retire maturing bond for local contractors.
From the total sum of N3,169,117,545,129 for recurrent expenditure, out of which N65 billion is for amnesty programme; N2,122,268,415,101 is for personnel cost of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs); overhead worth N245,200,853,273.
The fiscal deficit is to be maintained at 3% level as stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 but at an average if about 1.93% of GDP, but declining to less than 1% by 2020.
Expected to accompany the President to the National Assembly chambers are key members of the Federal Executive Council namely: Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budger and National Planning and Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance.
Others are: Ita Enang, Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) and Ismaila Kawu, Seniir Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).
