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Tag: allocation

  • Reps to NHIS: You must give account of unutilised N3m in 2020 budgetary allocation

    Reps to NHIS: You must give account of unutilised N3m in 2020 budgetary allocation

    …as agency introduces new package to benefit Nigerians in private sector

    The House of Representatives has ordered the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to give account of the sum of N3 million that was not utilised in the N144million budgetary allocation for the agency in 2020.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Hon. Tanko Sonunu, Chairman Reps committee on Health gave the directive on Wednesday during a budget defence session with NHIS.

    Executive Secretary, NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo who appeared before the committee explained that out of the N144 million that was released for 2020 budget, over N140 million were utilised.

    Prof. Sambo also said for 2021, out of over N740 million appropriated for, over N400 million have been utilised.

    Members of the committee while questioning the agency on its expenditure for 2020 discovered that N3million was not utilised of the amount released.

    The agency in its response said the N3 million was rolled over to the 2021 budgetary allocation.

    In its quest to further inquire of the said descripancy, the Executive Secretary of NHIS pleaded the Sonunu led committee to give them time in their next meeting to provide details of how it was utilised.

    Meanwhile, the NHIS has disclosed that Nigerians who are not in the government or private sector payroll can now benefit from the National Health Insurance Scheme through a new package called Giftship.

    Speaking with newsmen shortly after the budget defence of the agency, Executive Secretary of NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo explained that “Giftship is a platform that can bring in individuals, families, people from various groups, people from diaspora. It can facilitate philanthropists to come and get premium on behalf of people in their communities”.

    According to Prof. Sambo, this programme is also tagged in the constituency project where members of the national assembly can put some funds in the National Health Insurance Scheme. They can do it to cover patients in their own communities.

    “So this is a platform. We call it a master stroke that will bring about the total coverage of the Nigerian population. If you’re a philanthropist, you can pay like N15 million and cover over one thousand people. If you pay N30 million, you can cover two thousand people”,he said.

    The agency noted that the new platform has the same package with the already existing one.

  • Minister outlines processes for allocation of FG houses nationwide

    Minister outlines processes for allocation of FG houses nationwide

    Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing, has said that Federal Government houses nationwide would be allocated through online applications.

    Fashola stated this in an interview with Journalists during his inspection of houses under the Federal Government housing project on Thursday, in Bauchi.

    He said very soon the process of allocation would start through online applications by the beneficiaries.

    “The process is going to be on an online platform, the form will be online and pay online, fill them, you don’t need to give anything under the table . It is first come first served, that is why it takes a little while.

    “We also noticed some dampness and drainage issues in the completed houses. Our facility manager would address them and find a way of draining the water for the beneficiaries”, he said.

    Fashola pointed out that the houses would be allocated to all Nigerians; everybody is entitled to own the house through the online application.

    He said the Federal Government was committed and passionate about solving the nation’s housing deficit.

    “The Federal Government is determined to provide houses to the public across all the states of the federation”, the minister added.

    He said the first phase of the houses had been completed; the Federal Government would now focus on the second phase to bridge the deficit in housing.

    The Minister noted that the housing projects provide jobs to the citizens and boost the economy of the people in the state, as all materials used are bought in the state.

    He commended the Bauchi state government for all the necessary support and for providing the land for the construction of the houses.

  • NDDC received N6trn allocation in 19 years – FG

    NDDC received N6trn allocation in 19 years – FG

    The Federal Government on Thursday said it allocated N6trn to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2001 and 2019.

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami made the comment when he got the forensic audit report of the NDDC from his Niger Delta counterpart Godswill Akpabio.

    “It is on record that between 2001 and 2019, the Federal Government has approved N3, 375, 735,776,794.93 as budgetary allocation and N2,420,948,894,191.00 as Income from Statutory and Non Statutory Sources, which brings the total figure to the sum of approximately N6 trillion given to the Niger Delta Development Commission,” Malami said during the event which took place in Abuja.

    According to the minister, the figure is an indication that the Federal Government has allocated a good amount of funds to the development of Nigeria’s oil-bearing region.

    He, however, expressed concern over uncompleted and some unverified projects in the Niger Delta despite the allocations.

    Malami’s remark comes almost two years after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC starting from 2001.

    Worried over alleged misappropriation in the Commission, Buhari insisted on knowing how funds budgeted to the region were spent.

    “With the amount of money that the Federal Government has religiously allocated to the NDDC, we will like to see the results on the ground; those that are responsible for that have to explain certain issues,” one of the presidential aide, Femi Adesina, had quoted his principal as saying during a meeting with governors from states which make up the Commission.

    “The projects said to have been done must be verifiable. You just cannot say you spent so much billions and when the place is visited, one cannot see the structures that have been done. The consultants must also prove that they are competent.”

    In August 2020, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) equally approved N722.3m for the audit, with the payment coming from the Presidency.

  • BREAKING: FG breaks silence on Obaseki’s claim of printing N60bn to support March allocation

    BREAKING: FG breaks silence on Obaseki’s claim of printing N60bn to support March allocation

    he Federal Government has denied it printed N60bn to augument March allocation to States as alleged by Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    It described the allegation by Obaseki as untrue and sad.

    Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, told State House correspondents: “The issue that was raised by the Edo State Governor for me is very, very sad. Because it is not a fact.

    “What we distribute at FAAC is revenue that is generated and in fact distribution revenue is public information. We publish revenue generated by FIRS, the customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC.

    “So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC, it is not true,” she said.

     

  • Obaseki sparks nationwide controversy over claims FG printed N60bn to augment depleted March allocation

    Obaseki sparks nationwide controversy over claims FG printed N60bn to augment depleted March allocation

    Ever since Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki raised the alarm that Nigeria might collapse economically because of global shrinking oil revenue which happens to be the nation’s mainstay, Nigerians have continued to question the federal government fiscal policies.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Governor Obaseki revealed that the federal government printed about N60 billion to augment the federation allocation shared with states and local governments in March.

    Besides, Obaseki, during a meeting with the Transition Committee members at the Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital during the week revealed that by December this year, the country’s total borrowing would be in excess of 15 to 16 trillion.

    “In another year or so, where will we find this money that we go to Abuja to share every month? Last month, we got FAAC for March. The federal government printed an additional 50 to 60 billion to top-up for us to share,” he said.

    The governor believed, very soon, there would be no crude oil revenue, accruing to the national treasury for spending, with the dwindling fortunes of oil.

    Emphasising that despite the prices of crude at the international market, the current fortunes of crude is only a mirage and the Nigerian economy could no longer rely on oil revenue. According to him, major oil producers like Shell and Chevron, which hitherto made huge financial commitment to oil production, are no longer investing as much, especially with Chevron was heavily investing in alternative fuel and Shell pulling out of Nigeria.

    He, therefore asked, where will the federal government find the oil revenue to share monthly as federal allocation among the three tiers of government?

    “We say remove subsidy, they say no. This April, next week again, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, the total borrowing is going to be in excess of 15 to 16 trillion.

    “My worry is that we will wake up one day like Argentina, the naira will be 1,000, 2,000 and will be moving because we don’t have money coming in. You are just borrowing, borrowing and borrowing without any means or idea of how to pay back.”

    Obaseki pointed that the change in the world economy which is now affecting Nigeria, would be the major factor that will affect the country’s economy going forward.

    Reacting to the governor’s revelation, Nigerians took to their social media accounts to question the federal government sincerity in fixing the nation and making the economy buoyant to survive during challenging times.

    See reactions below:

    https://twitter.com/JackObinyan/status/1381180997149073410?s=20

  • ICYMI: How FG, States, others shared N3.88trn in 6 months

    ICYMI: How FG, States, others shared N3.88trn in 6 months

    The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared N3.879 trillion to the Federal Government, states, local government areas and other statutory recipients in the first half of 2020.

    This was contained in the latest edition of the quarterly report on the review of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) released in Abuja, on Tuesday.

    A breakdown of the disbursements showed that N1.53 trillion went to the Federal Government, while the states got N1.29 trillion and the 774 local government areas received N771.34 billion

    The N1.53 trillion received by the FG in H1 2020 was 4.28 per cent lower than the N1.599 trillion it got in the first half of 2019 and 7.36 per cent lower than the N1.652 trillion it received in the first half of 2018.

    “For states, a total of N1.29 trillion was disbursed in the first half of 2020.

    “This was 2.8 per cent lower than the N1.35 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2019, and 5.6 per cent lower than the N1.37 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2020,” the report stated in part.

    For local government areas, the 2020 first half disbursements were 2.64 and 3.04 per cent lower than the corresponding disbursements for 2019 and 2018, respectively.

    However, disbursements in second quarter(Q2) 2020 were 1.09 per cent higher than total disbursements in Q2 2019 and 3.66 per cent lower than the one for Q2 2018.

    “FAAC disbursements in the second quarter of 2020 stood at N1.934 trillion.

    “This was made up of N739.2 billion to the Federal Government, N629.3 billion to state governments, and N375.4 billion to the 774 local government areas.”

    According to the report, the total FAAC disbursements in the second quarter of 2020 was slightly lower than the N1.945 trillion disbursed in the first quarter of 2020.

    This aligned with the projections made in the previous issue of the NEITI Quarterly Review, which projected lower FAAC disbursement in the second quarter.

    The report attributed the 0.55 per cent decrease in Q2 2020 to a couple of factors, including rebound in oil prices in the second quarter as a result of ease of lockdowns by countries across the world.

    The other was the adjustment of the official exchange rate by the CBN from N307 to a dollar to N360 to a dollar in March resulting in higher naira disbursements.

    FAAC disbursements in the first quarter and second quarter of 2020 were very volatile, with the difference in total disbursements between months ranging between N58.9 billion and N199.3 billion.

    “During this period, the disbursements were very volatile in the first half of 2020, compared to 2018 and 2019.

    “Unlike 2018 and 2019 where aggregate disbursements increased and decreased in successive months, in 2020 they fell for two straight months, increased in one month, and then decreased for two straight months.”

    In the months under consideration in 2020, aggregate disbursements fluctuated by large amounts, compared to 2018 and 2019.

    “Aggregate disbursements were N716.3 billion in January and this fell to N647.4 billion in February.

    “Thereafter, disbursements fell to N581.6 billion in March, before increasing to N780.9 billion in April.

    “Disbursements then fell to N606.2 billion in May and to N547.3 billion in June.

    “These figures indicate differences of N68.9 billion between January and February, N65.7 billion between February and March, N199.3 billion between March and April, N174.7 billion between April and May, and N58.9 billion between May and June.

    ” For comparison, the highest inter-month difference in the first half of 2018 was N62.9 billion, while the corresponding figure for 2019 was N63.5 billion.

    “Thus, there have been very wide fluctuations in aggregate disbursements so far in 2020,” the report also stated in part.

    NEITI in the report also disclosed that from January to May 2020, actual government revenue was N1.62 trillion, representing 62 per cent of the expected pro-rata revenue of N2.62 trillion from the revised budget.

    This, the NEITI said explained a shortfall of 38 per cent in government revenue for the first five months of the year.

    As oil prices continue to rise, and with the increased pace of economic activities, it projected that Government revenue will perform better in the second half of 2020, with the possibility of shortfalls in revenue compared to budgeted figures.

    On total net FAAC disbursements and deductions for states for the first half of 2020, the report observed wide disparities.

    Osun State had the lowest net disbursement of N13.13 billion, while Delta State had the highest net disbursement of N100.81 billion.

    “This implies that Delta State received seven times the disbursement that Osun State received.

    “Total net disbursements received by Delta State (N100.81 billion) was higher than the combined total net disbursements of N99.47 billion received by six states – Osun, Cross River, Plateau, Ogun, Gombe and Ekiti.

    “Also, the combined total net disbursements of N321.29 billion received by the four highest receiving states of Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Bayelsa were higher than the combined total net disbursements of N314.08 billion received by 16 states.

    The States are Osun, Cross River, Plateau, Ogun, Gombe, Ekiti, Zamfara, Kwara, Nassarawa, Ebonyi, Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Ondo, Bauchi, and Abia.

    “While Lagos State had the highest deductions, Yobe State had the lowest.

  • FG commences deduction of N614b budget support facility from states’ allocation this month – Finance Minister

    The federal government will start recovering the N614 billion budget support facility from state governments this month.

    Minister of Finance Mrs. Zainab Ahmed made this disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday while presenting the draft 2020 to 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal strategy Paper.

    Ahmed stated that the states will start getting direct debits from their monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements.

    According to her, “the recovery process for us is to deduct from the FAAC allocation to the states and then we remit to the CBN and we are going to start this remittances by the next FAAC” which will hold in two weeks time.

    To show how serious the government is about making the deductions, the finance minister revealed that “there will be no requirement for us to consider the FSP implementation. We do that as a matter of wanting the states to stay on the path of fiscal sustainability but it will not be a condition for the deduction. We will deduct direct at source and remit to the CBN.”

    “The N614 billion bailout funds to states is not going to form part of the revenue for funding the budget, it was a loan which was advanced by the CBN and the repayment will be made to the CBN.”

    Federal Government last month said, a committee has been put in place to facilitate recovery of N614 billion given to 35 states. 35 states benefited from the facility, and each state is expected to pay back the equivalent of N17.5 billion.

    On the N650 billion to the states the minister spoke about, it was a conditional budget support provided by the CBN to help states pay salaries gratuities and pensions. CBN provided N650 billion in loans at 9% with a grace period of two years. The Federal Ministry of Finance helped in disbursements with documented approval by the presidency. That was why the finance minister said the money belongs to the CBN and is going to be paid into CBN account.

    With regards to the many incentives and waivers given to investors, the finance minister said “we have too many incentives and too many waivers. But our partners in the trade will not necessarily agree with us. We also agree that there has to be a review of the pioneer status certificate issuance process because the waivers and the incentives are really costing us a lot.”

    She however cautioned that government will not just withdraw its decision on granting pioneer status accorded to some investors, adding that “when a decision has been made and approvals have been given, and a private business makes an investment decision based on those incentives, you can’t pull it out overnight. So, there has to be a period within which the commitments that have been made are allowed to exit before you impose new conditions.”

    She then added that government is “currently reviewing the quantum of waivers. The idea is to see which one we can begin to pull back and throw away from the pool to reduce the cost on government. But to encourage businesses and to make Nigeria competitive, some of them are essential.”

    The federal government has also warned Nigerians to brace up as the 2020 to 2022 fiscal years will be challenging.

    Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said the 2020 to 2022 fiscal years will be very challenging with respect to revenue generation and rapid growth in personnel costs.

    Ahmed attributed the growth in personnel cost to the creation of new ministries and appointment of additional ministers.

    She however assured that government is ready to take firm decisions. To contain rising personnel cost, she disclosed that “any government staff not captured in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by October 2019 should forget their salaries.”

    From 2020, the budgets of all MDAs and Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) will now be contained and published in the nation’s annual budget.

    The 2020 – 2022 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) outlines Federal Government of Nigeria’s fiscal policies/strategies and macroeconomic projections for 2020 – 2022 and provides the broad framework for the annual budget in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007.

    In 2020, the federal government plans to cut a whooping N1.16 trillion off capital expenditure from N2.92 trillion in 2019 to N1.76 trillion in the proposed 2020 budget.
    This will then see capital expenditure dropping to 21 per cent of total expenditure in 2020 compared to 32 per cent in the 2019 approved budget.

    Mrs Zainab Ahmed said Nigeria is planning to trim its budget for 2020 marginally by 0.19 per cent to N8.90 trillion, as against the N9.16 trillion approved by lawmakers for 2019.

    The government approved a 34 and 66 per cents capital/ recurrent expenditure fiscal policy in 2018 and 32 and 68 per cents in the approved 2019 budget.

    Details of the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP) 2020-2022 showed that capital expenditure will suffer successive cuts for the three-year period to N1.76 trillion, N1.70 trillion and N1.68 respectively for 2020, 2021 and 2022 despite increases in total expenditure at N8.6 trillion, N8.98 trillion and N9.4 trillion during the same period. Recurrent on the other hand, is expected to increase from N3.41 trillion in 2018 to N4.7 trillion in 2019.

    Key Assumptions of the 2020 Budget Framework: Oil Production 2.18 mbpd; Oil Price $55/b; Exchange Rate N305/$; Inflation Rate 10.81%; Nominal Consumption N122.75 trn; N142.96 trn Nominal GDP; and GDP Growth Rate of 2.93%.

    A lower benchmark oil price of $55/b (against $60/b for 2019) is assumed considering the expected oil glut in 2020, as well as the need to cushion against unexpected price shock.

    There are strong indications of an oversupplied market in 2020. All three of the major forecasters – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), International Energy Association (IEA) and the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) generally see non-OPEC production growing by around 2mbpd this year, and by even more next year.

    Federal government plans to borrow N1.7 trillion in 2020 of this amount, N850 billion will be domestic borrowing while the balance of N850 billion will be from foreign borrowing.

    In addition, federal government has projected a total fiscal deficit of N2.154 trillion with additional funding coming from: privatisation proceeds N126,522,715,909; multi-lateral/Bi-lateral project-tied loans N328,128,150,000.

    Sale of government property and Non-Oil asset sales are expected to be nil in 2020.

    Total budget for 2020 is put at N9,789,243,849,466. For 2021, N10,110,193,322,738 and in 2022, N10,418,391,196,907.

    Zainab Ahmed also warned that the “Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) could create a nightmare situation for the country unless the right policies and actions are implemented expeditiously to improve Nigeria’s economic competitiveness.”

  • Average police station in Nigeria receives N30,000 per quarter as allocation – Owoseni

    A former Commissioner of Police in Lagos and Benue States, Mr Fatai Owoseni, has disclosed that what an average police station in Nigeria gets as allocation per quarter for its operations is not more than N30,000, amounting to N10,000 a month.

    Mr Owoseni, who retired from the police force in December 2018, made this disclosure in the early hours of Monday, February 25, 2019.

    The retired cop was a guest on Channels Television’s popular election programme, The Verdict, which was monitored by TNG

    Speaking on the pathetic nature of things at the security agency, the former Commissioner said the poor funding has made it impossible for the police to perform well like they do when on foreign missions.

    “What an average police station receive as allocation is not more than N30,000 per quarter. How do you want them to perform excellently well?” he asked on the programme.

    “Yes, I was a Commissioner of Police in Lagos and before then, I was in the Operations at the Force Headquarters and I know how the funding of the police is.

    “Sometimes, the N30,000 allocation for the first quarter of the year may not come until the third quarter; that is the condition the police operates under.

    “Let me make it clear that this is not a case of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) embezzling the money, but it is what is allocated to the police by the government.

    “When you take what is budgeted to the Force to the police stations in the country, what gets to each is just too small to work with.

    “This is making enforcement of law very difficult in the country. Nigeria is the most difficult place in the world to enforce any law. I want anybody to challenge me on this.

    “When it comes to investigation and prosecution of cases in this country, the police spends a lot of time to investigate a case and when it comes to prosecution, because the law says you must prove beyond reasonable doubt, your key witness will run away and when your principal witnesses are not available, there is nothing much a policeman can do,” the former police chief said.

     

  • No half truth in allegation that NASS reduced budgets – Fashola tells NASS

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola has expressed deep concern over the recourse of the National Assembly’s Spokespersons to name calling over his observations on the 2017 Budget.

    Fashola who made the statement through his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Hakeem Bello, said he was worried that the National Assembly Spokespersons failed to address the fundamental points about development- hindering whimsical cuts in the allocations to several vital projects under the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as other Ministries.

    Fashola had, in a recent interview while acknowledging that Legislators could contribute to budget making, disagreed with the practice where the legislative arm of Government unilaterally alters the Budget after putting members of the Executive through Budget Defence Sessions and Committee Hearings to the extent that some of the projects proposed would have become materially altered.

    While acknowledging the need for legislative input from the representatives of the people to bring forward their developmental aspirations before and during the Budget production process, the Minister had observed that it amounted to a waste of tax payers money and an unnecessary distortion of orderly planning and development for all sections of the country, for lawmakers to unilaterally insert items not under the Exclusive or Concurrent lists of the Constitution like boreholes and streetlights after putting Ministries , Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the process of Budget Defence.

    Specifically with regards to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Fashola listed the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway, the Bodo- Bonny road, the Kano-Maiduguri road, the Second Niger Bridge and the long drawn Mambilla Hydropower Project among others as those that the National Assembly materially altered the allocations in favour of scores of boreholes and primary health care centres which were never discussed during the Ministerial Budget Defence before Parliament.

    In their responses both the spokespersons of the Senate and the House of Representatives accused the Minister of spreading “Half-Truths” and making “Fallacious “ statements because he (Fashola) should have known that they only interfered with projects that had concession agreements and private sector funding components.

    They also accused the Minister of wanting to hold on to such projects in order that he may continue to award contracts.

    However, while dismissing the allegations in the course of an official trip outside the country, Fashola said it was sad that the lawmakers would resort to name calling even without understanding the facts of what they were getting into. Taking the projects which the lawmakers chose to focus on one after the other, the Minister insisted that there is no subsisting concession agreement on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway adding that what the Infrastructure Construction Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has is a financing agreement from a consortium of banks which is like a loan that still has to be paid back through budgetary provisions.

    There is no fallacy or half truth in the allegation that the budgets were reduced. The Spokespersons admitted this much and now sought to rationalize it by a concession or financing arrangement that has failed to build the road since 2006. The biggest momentum seen on the road was in 2016.

    In the case of the Second Niger Bridge where one of the Spokespersons alleged that the provision in 2016 budget was not spent and had to be returned, Fashola said that this displays very stark and worrisome gaps in knowledge of the Spokesperson about the budget process he was addressing.

    According to him, a budget is not cash. It is an approval of estimates of expenditure to be financed by cash from the Ministry of Finance.

    The Ministry of Finance has not yet released any cash for the Second Niger Bridge, so no money was returned.

    Three phases of Early Works of piling and foundation was approved and financed by the previous Government in the hope that a concession will finally be issued, which has not happened because concessionaires have not been able to raise finance.

    The continuation of Early Works IV could not start in May 2016 when the budget was passed because of high water level in the River Niger in the rainy season.

    The contract was only approved by the Federal Executive Council in the first quarter of 2017 and the contractor is awaiting payment.

    Dismissing the allegation that the Ministry under him was holding on to projects that could be funded through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) so that he could award contracts as a tissue of lies, the Minister said from Day One of his assumption of office, he made it clear publicly and privately that his priority would be to finish as many of the several hundreds of projects that his Ministry inherited which had not been funded for close to three years.

    According to Fashola, if the Spokesperson was in tune with the Public Procurement Law which the National Assembly passed, he would realize that the Minister has no unilateral power to award such contracts whose values are in Billions of Naira, adding that all the new projects presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval were either Federal roads requested by State Governments or those put in the Budget by the Legislators to service their constituencies.

    Fashola stated that the focus on contracts by the Spokesperson is probably a Freudian slip that reveals his mindset and interests; when indeed he should be focused on Developmental projects that strengthen the economy, which is the focus of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan endorsed by the legislature.

    Also responding to the issues that the Budget for the Mambila Power Project was slashed because it contained a “ whooping N17 bn” for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Minister said there was indeed a mis-description of that particular Expenditure Head which could have happened during the classification of so many thousands of Budget heads in the Budget estimates.

    According to him, what was described as a Budget Head for EIA was actually the nation’s counterpart funding to the China- EXIM loan to fund the building of the Mambila Project , adding that this was brought to his attention only after it had been slashed and that if the intention was not to slash arbitrarily it should have been brought to his attention to explain. “At a joint meeting convened at the instance of the Budget Minister when I complained that the budget was slashed, the issue of EIA was brought to my attention and I explained what it was meant for,” Fashola said.

    On the issue of the N20 Billion provision in the Ministry’s Budget which the Spokesperson alleged that the Minister failed to give details of, Fashola said the Spokesperson is hiding behind a finger.

    The Minister explained that it was a very basic principle of good planning to make provision for unforeseen contingencies adding that in the 2016 Budget , a similar provision enabled the Ministry to respond to the failures of the Tamburawa Bridge in Sokoto, the Ijora Bridge in Lagos and the Gada Hudu Bridge in Koto Karfe along the Abuja – Lokoja Highway. Similarly, the Ministry was able to pay N1BN to the Contractor handling the Suleja to Minna road.

    The recent failures caused by flooding along Tegina-Mokwa-Jebba road and Tatabu in Niger State could not have been provided because they were not foreseen and there may be more. “ This is what good planning is about ,“ Fashola said.

    Noting that the Senate Spokesperson missed the point in the haste to cast aspersions on him because he was not at the meetings he was speaking about, Fashola said he would have expected a more sober approach to the matter. “ In any event, allegations of half truth is only a flawed response to the constitutional and developmental issues that have plagued Nigeria from 1999 about how to budget for the critical infrastructure in Nigeria. It shows the conflict between the Executive that wants to build big Federal Highways; Bridges ; Power Plants; Rail; and Dams on one hand and Parliament that wants to do small things like Bore holes , Health Centres , Street lights and supplying grinding machines ,” he said.

    According to the Minister, being an institutional and not a personal issue, it won’t be out of place to seek a resolution of the conflict at the Supreme Court in order to protect the country’s future, because it is a clear conflict about how best to serve the people.

    “ As long as Budgets planned to deliver life changing infrastructure are cut into small pieces, Nigeria will continue to have small projects that are not life changing , and big projects that have not been completed in 17 years . If a project would cost N15 Billion and the contractor gets only a fraction of that, then things won’t move. Success should be defined by how many projects an administration is able to complete or set on the path of irreversible completion and not how many poorly funded contracts are awarded,” he said.

  • Osun receives lowest allocation as FG, States, LGs share N1.4trn in first quarter

    Osun receives lowest allocation as FG, States, LGs share N1.4trn in first quarter

    …as Akwa Ibom, Osun emerge highest and lowest recipients respectively

    The Federal Government, the 36 states and their local government areas have so far shared N1.4 trillion from the federation account, being revenue generated in the first quarter of 2017.

    A breakdown by Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC)on Sunday in Abuja, shows that key agencies that remit funds into the federation account are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Customs Service.

    The total revenue shared in January between the federal, states and local government was N430.16 billion, meaning that federal took N168 billion, states, N114.28 billion and local government, N85.4 billion.

    The federation grossed in N514 billion in February and federal government’s share was N200.6 billion, states, N128.4 billion and local government, N96.52 billion.

    However, in March, revenue generation dipped lower, grossing N466.9 billion, and from it, the federal government got N180.5 billion, state governments, N116.5 billion and local government, N87.5 billion.

    The allocation was made using the revenue sharing formular, Federal Government, 52.68 per cent; states, 26.72 per cent and local governments 20.60 per cent.

    The report showed that before distribution, state liabilities were deducted.

    The liabilities paid by the states in the first quarter, included an external debt of N8.73 billion, contractual obligations of N30.15 billion and other deductions amounting to N50.23 billion.

    The other deductions, cover National Water Rehabilitation Projects, National Agricultural Technology Support, Payment for Fertiliser, State Water Supply Project, State Agriculture Project and National Fadama Project.

    However, here is what each of the 36 states got in the first quarter after all deductions were made:

    Abia N8.42 billlion, Adamawa N7.8 billion, Akwa Ibom N34.88 billion, Anambra, N8.7 billion, Bauchi, N7.9 billion, Bayelsa, N22.97 billion, Benue, N8.16 billion, Borno, N9.74 billion and Cross River, N4.28 billion.

    Also, Delta got N21.54 billion, Ebonyi, N7.56 billion, Edo, N6.5 billion, Ekiti, N4.97 billion, Enugu, N7.86 billion, Gombe, N6.35 billion, Imo, N7.92 billion, Jigawa, N9.66 billion, Kaduna, N10.56 billion and Kano, N14.02 billion.

    Similarly, Katsina’s share from the federation account in 3 months was N10.05 billion, Kebbi, N8.37 billion, Kogi, N8.28 billion, Kwara, N6.9 billion, Lagos, 19.03 billion, Nassarawa, N7.41 billion and Niger, N9 billion.

    Finally, Ogun state got N4.98 as allocation for first quarter, 2017, Ondo,N10.22 billion, Osun, N1.76 billion, Oyo, N8.9 billion, Plateau, N5.7 billion, Rivers, N26.8 billion, Sokoto, N9.07 billion, Taraba, N6.9 billion, Yobe, N8.33 billion, and Zamfara, N5.91 billion.

    FAAC committee is made up of commissioners for Finance and Accountant-Generals from the 36 states of the federation.

    The Minister of Finance, is the chairman of the committee, while the Accountant-General of the Federation, is next with representatives from the NNPC.

    Other members are representatives from the Federal Inland Revenue Service; the Nigerian Customs Service; Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria.