The Ministry of Budget and National Planning assured again on Thursday that it is in the process of finalizing the 2018 Budget proposals preparatory to submission to the National Assembly in October 2017 as it earlier indicated.
Already, all the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government have gone through the required budget preparation procedures. The Ministry of Budget and National Planning has also concluded bilateral discussions on the budget with them about two weeks ago, according to available information.
It would be recalled that the 2016 and 2017 budgets were both submitted to the National Assembly in December and finally assented to by the President in May and June respectively.
Nigeria’s federal government has proposed a record N7.939 trillion spending for 2018, making it the three straight record budget of Buhari administration.
With the proposed enlarged spending amid lower revenues, fiscal deficit has been forecasted to rise substantially to N2.777 trillion in 2018 from the N2.356 trillion in the 2017 budget which government is yet to commence full implementation.
The country which just exited 15 months economic recession hopes that price of oil – the largest government revenue earner would continue to rally and has proposed $45/barrel oil benchmark for 2018 as against N44.5/b for 2017 as contained in the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
The federal government also projects oil production at 2.30 million barrels per day for 2018, especially as the Organisation for Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) has sustained the country’s exemption from oil output cap.
Exchange rate is projected at exchange rate at N305/$, inflation rate at 12.42 percent GDP growth rate at 4.8%, Nominal GDP at N133.97 trillion and Nominal Consumption at N87.95 trillion for2018.
The government also projects Non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) N104.652 trillion and oil GDP at N29.323 trillion But total gross domestic product is forecasted at N113.4 trillion and debt to GDP ratio of 2.45 percent.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning Udo Udoma had said the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Fiscal Strategy Paper will be sent to the National Assembly on their resumption from recess in September, while the budget proposal will follow in October. But the executive is yet to present the MTEF to the NASS for approval just three days to the end of September.
Udoma also said the key thrusts of the 2018-2020 MTEF/FSP are consistent with the goals of Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which is aimed at repositioning the economy on the path of diversified, sustainable and inclusive growth.
“The Budget Office which is in charge of preparation of national budgets is in the process of finalizing the budget harmonization and is awaiting legislative approval of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) which has been endorsed by the Federal Executive Council in August 2017,” Akpandem James, Special Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning said in a mailed statement on Thursday.
“It is therefore not true that the 2018 Budget proposal will now be presented to the National Assembly in January 2018,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government is struggling to implement the N7.441 trillion budget for 2017 on low revenues. The finance ministry confirmed just on Tuesday that nihne months into the year, the government has only been able to release a total of N336bn out of the N2.24tn budget for capital spending 2017.
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja
