Jonathan signs budget, vows to sack lobbyists

President
Goodluck
Jonathan signs
the 2012
Appropriation Bill
into Law Friday at
the State House
in Abuja.

President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday
signed the 2012
federal government
budget of N4.697
trillion and
threatened to sack
heads of Ministries,
Departments and
Parastatals that
lobbied the National
Assembly and got
their budgets
increased.
The Aggregate
revenue estimate
stood at N3.561
billion, leaving a
budget deficit of
about N1.136
trillion,
representing 2.85
per cent of the
Gross Domestic
Product, GDP .
The National
Assembly had on
the 15th of last
month passed the
2012 Appropriation
Bill of N4. 697trillion
which excluded the
provision for the
Subsidy
Reinvestment,
SURE, fund of N180
billion.
It was decided that
the SURE fund
should be outside
the budget to
enable the Nigerian
public clearly to
track its utilization.
His signing of the
budget has cleared
the rumoured fears
that the budget
passed by the
National Assembly
on March 15, 2012
may be sent back
for further
amendments.
On CEOs of MDAs
who lobbied the
NASS to increase
their budgetary
allocations,
President Jonathan
said those involved
would be sacked to
serve as
deterrent to
others, as
according to him,
those involved in
that practice were
distorting the
budget which
cannot be allowed
to continue.
On 2013 budget,
the president said
that steps had
already been taken
to ensure its early
passage by the
Coordinating
Minister for the
Economy, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala. She
also liaise with
relevant agencies
to ensure that the
National Assembly
receives the
budgetary
estimates between
June and July this
year, adding that
the Early passage
of the budget would
enhance robust
debate on the
appropriation bill.
Capital budget
stood at N1.34
trillion,
representing 28.5
per cent of the total
budget, recurrent
budget took a
whooping N3.356
trillion.
N372.59 billion was
earmarked for
statutory
transfers. The
bodies that benefit
from the transfers
include the
Independent
National Electoral
Commission, INEC,
the Niger Delta
Development
Commission, the
National Assembly,
as well as the
Judiciary.
The trend of
recurrent budget
taking the lion
share of the
federal government
budget continued
as it accounted for
71. 5 per cent of
the budget. It was
however an
improvement over
last year’s which
stood at 74.4.
“This is in line with
Government’s
determination to
correct the
structural imbalance
in our expenditure
profile where
recurrent spending
has outstripped the
growth of spending
on capital projects
in recent times”,
the president said.
According to him,
“the revenue
forecast was based
on a Benchmark Oil
Price of $72 per
barrel, $2 higher
than the initial
proposal of $70
per barrel. “The
additional
resources were
used to increase
the capital and to
reduce the deficit to
a manageable level
that we can be
finance without
excessive
borrowing”,
President Jonathan.
He explained that
his budget would
invest in areas that
would translate the
impressive growth
rate in recent
years to better
standard of living
for Nigerians.
Specifically, he said
that his
government would
invest in projects
and programmes
that could
guarantee job
creation for the
nation’s teeming
youth population.
His words, “The
goal of achieving
positive
macroeconomic
stability is no end
in itself. The robust
growth experienced
in recent years
needs to be
translated into
tangible and
concrete
improvement in the
living standards of
our people. In this
respect, the
Government is
focused on
investments in
priority sectors in
order to sustain
economic growth
and create jobs.
The 2012 Budget is
geared toward
supporting
economic growth
and employment
creation