…Health: N897m increase, Education: N1.709bn
…Debt Servicing to gulp N2.951trn
The Senate yesterday passed N10.810 trillion as revised budget for the 2020 fiscal year, with marginal increases in provisions for health, education and other critical social expenditure heads. The revised budget indicated an increase of N301 billion from the N10.509 trillion proposed by the Executive.
In what appeared to be a consideration of the public demand for improved budgetary provisions on items that bear directly on the wellbeing of the citizenry and sustainable development of the country, the lawmakers increased the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) earlier vote of N51.120 billion by N1.709 billion. Similarly, the legislators also increased the N25.560 billion earlier proposed for Basic Health Care Fund by N897 million.
A breakdown of the revised Appropriation (Amendment) Act 2020 showed that Capital Expenditure was jerked up from N2.230 trillion to N2.488 trillion; Recurrent Expenditure from the earlier proposed N4.928 trillion to N4.942 trillion and Statutory Transfers from N398.505billion to N428.033.
However, the revised budget proposal forwarded to National Assembly by President Buhari like N2.951trillion for Debt Servicing and N500 billion as COVID-19 Intervention Fund were left unchanged. The key benchmarks of the budget include Exchange Rate of N360 to a US dollar; Oil production, 1.8 million barrels per day (mbd/d) oil price benchmark which was raised from $25 per barrel proposed by the Executive to $28/barrel.
Giving explanation on increases reflected on the revised budget proposal, particularly on the statutory transfers, the Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola, said increase made on oil price benchmark from $25 to $28 per barrel accounted for N5 billion spread on different votes earlier proposed.
According to him, out of the N5 billion expected as additional proceeds from increased oil price benchmark, additional N1.746billion was added to the statutory votes of N44.200billion for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), N816million added to N20.944billion earlier proposed for the North East Development Commission (NEDC). In his remarks after the passage of the budget, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, urged the various standing committees of the Senate to use the power of oversight to ensure that all appropriations are implemented as passed. “We must ensure accountability in the execution of the just passed revised 2020 budget in the interest of Nigerians”, he stressed.
