There are strong indications that the 2018 budget may likely hit N10 trillion due to Federal Government’s plan to roll over 60 per cent of capital projects to the 2018 Budget proposal.
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had on Tuesday informed the Joint Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations that the government is planning to roll over 60 per cent of 2017 capital projects to 2018 as result of the Senate recommendation that Budget cycle should be from January to December of every year.
However, at the conclusion of the Joint Committees recommendation on 2017 budget implementation, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, gave the hint that with the rolling over of 60 per cent capital budget in 2017, the next year budget will be close to N10 trillion.
According to Saraki: “If you are taking about 50 per cent of capital projects to next year budget, it means you are talking about N10 trillion budget.
“I hope the Executive is taking note.”
Saraki stated that there was no pending request for external borrowing with the chamber.
He said: “Let me also clarify this because I was informed by the Chairman of Appropriations, that when the Minister of Finance came, she suggested that there were some requests before us on external borrowing.
“I just want to make it clear that there is no request on external borrowing that has not been acted upon.
“It must be that the letters have not left the Executive to come to us.
“I think it is important that we don’t delay such an important issue.
“If you remember, at the end of last session, on the last day, we treated requests from the states and those on the railways.
“There are no pending requests from Mr. President or when he was away from the Acting President on external loan.”
Earlier, apart from commending the committee’s report, the Senate adopted all other recommendations presented for consideration.
The first recommendation reads: “The committee wishes to recommend that the issue of external borrowing be resolved with the executive without further delay.”
Part of the recommendations of the panel, which was approved by the chamber, was that if Nigeria would have a January to December budget cycle in 2018, the Federal Government must not roll over 60 per cent of capital projects in the 2017 budget as being proposed.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly also warned the Executive against the selective implementation of projects “under the guise of completing priority projects”.