President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday unveiled a federal budget of N8.83 trillion for the 2019 fiscal year in a rancorous atmosphere produced by interplay of cheering and jeering by members of the National Assembly.
While the President was heralded with cheers by members of the ruling party, opposition lawmakers interjected with boos as the President read the budget forcing the President to stop momentarily to remind the lawmakers that “the world is watching us and we are supposed to be above this.”
The President was visibly disoriented by the rowdiness that characterised his presentation of 2019 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly.
The situation became worse during the presentation when the President in review of the previous budget painted in glowing terms the performance of the administration. PDP lawmakers booed the President in disapproval, while their APC counterparts hailed him.
The president was occasionally interrupted by the lawmakers such that he had to cut his presentation.
This Day reports that a fight had earlier broken out between a PDP lawmaker and APC lawmaker in the House before the arrival of the President.
Hon. Bashir Babale of APC was engaged in physical brawl with PDP lawmaker, Doye Diri, who was preparing placards with which they planned to protest when President Buhari arrives.
PDP lawmakers also booed the Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, when he called the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, aside apparently to pacify him.
The budget which the president presented was N300 billion lower than the current budget.
The figure came in the 2019 Appropriation Bill presented by the president to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja.
The 2018 total budget estimate was N9.1 billion.
According to Buhari, N4.04 trillion or 50.31 per cent is earmarked for recurrent expenditure and N2.03 trillion representing 22.98 per cent earmarked for capital projects. Other estimates are N492.36 billion for statutory transfers; N2.14 trillion for debt servicing and provision of N120 billion as sinking fund.
He explained that the sinking fund would be used to “retire maturing bonds to local contractors”.
The 2019 budget proposal is based on an oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N305 to a dollar.
Other benchmarks are: real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 3.01 per cent and inflation rate of 9.98 per cent.
The total projected revenue, according to the president, is N6.97 trillion, which is three per cent lower than the 2018 estimate of N7.17 trillion.
Buhari said the expected income consisted of oil revenue projected at N3.73 trillion, and non-oil revenue estimated at N1.39 trillion.
“The estimate from non-oil revenue consists of N799.52 billion from company income tax; N229.34 billion from value added tax, and customs duties of N302.5 billion.
“We have reduced our expectations from independent revenue to N624.58 billion.
“Other revenues expected in 2019 include various recoveries of N203.38 billion; N710 billion as proceeds from the restructuring of government equity in joint ventures, and other sundry incomes of N104.1 billion,” he said.
The president explained that the total N8.83 trillion proposed expenditure for 2019 included grants and donor funds amounting to N209.92 billion.
Buhari said although the 2019 estimate was lower than the 2018 budget of N9.1 trillion, it was higher than the N8.6 trillion originally proposed by the executive to the National Assembly.
The budget deficit is projected to decrease to N1.86 trillion or 1.3 per cent of the GDP in 2019 from N1.95 trillion projected for 2018.
“This reduction is in line with our plan to progressively reduce deficit and borrowings over the medium term,” he said.
On sectoral allocation, the president said the Ministry of Interior would get N569.07billion, Defence (N435.62 billion), Education (N462.24 billion) and Health (N315.62 billion).
The Rainbow with agency reports
