Nigeria: FG Budgets N4.77 Trillion for 2014

The Federal Government is proposing a budget of N4.77 trillion for the 2014 fiscal year. This is contained in the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) document submitted to the Senate by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday. According to the document, the daily crude oil production by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for 2014 is pegged at 2.3883 million barrels per day (mbpd) which is lower than the 2013 figure of 2.526 mbpd. In the same vein, the crude oil bench mark is put at $74 per barrel while the exchange rate between the United States' dollar and the Naira remain steady at N160 to $1. Government is also retaining subsidy on petroleum products in 2014 and is budgeting the sum of N273.14 billion for Subsidy Re-Investment Programme (SURE-P) which is part of the N4.77 trillion estimates. In the budget, N1.45 trillion is for capital expenditure, representing 30 percent, while the remaining will go for recurrent and overhead expenses. According to the document, as at March 2013, Nigeria's external debt stood at $6.67 billion, in which the Federal Government's share is 63.5 per cent while the 36 states and the FCT accounted for the balance of 36.5 per cent.

Domestic debt for the same period stood at N6.49 trillion bringing the total to N7.53 trillion representing 17.75 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2014, the government intends to borrow N572 billion to finance the budget deficit. Meanwhile, the Senate will today debate a motion seeking to institute an investigation into reports that the Federal Government said the 2013 budget was not implementable. Coming under Order 42 of the Senate standing rules, Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi) said his curiosity arose from the fact that the crude oil price is still $107 USD as at Tuesday, meaning that there was no shortfall of revenue beyond the $79 per barrel. continued