Foundation for the much planned reversal of yearly budget cycles from May to May or June to June, as it is presently, to January – December will be laid today as President Muhammadu Buhari presents 2020 budget proposals to a joint sitting of the National Assembly. TAIYE ODEWALE reports.
During military era
Before the advent of democratic rule in the country on May 29, 1999, yearly budget cycle at both the federal and state levels, have always been January to December of every year, particularly under the various military regimes.
During the years, not only were total budgetary proposals cum estimates presented to Nigerians through nationwide broadcasts by whoever was at the helm of affairs then, on the first day of January of every year, but its implementation calendar strictly runs from January to December of each year with attendant clear cut performance measurements from quarter to quarter.
Obasanjo era and altered calender
The yearly delays in budget consideration and passage by the National Assembly started in year 2000 during the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency which was passed by the National Assembly in April of that year after months of bickering and disagreements between the then federal lawmakers and President Obasanjo over some proposals in the N598billion budget estimates and signed into law in May.
Failed attempts to revert
Although during the same Obasanjo’s presidency, attempts were made to revert back to the January – December yearly budget implementation circle with the passage of N2.3trillion 2007 budget on 20th of December, 2006 by both chambers of the National Assembly, having received it from the then President on the 11th of October, 2006, but such attempt did not succeed in returning the country to the traditional January to December budget implementation circle.
Even the Fiscal Responsibility Act introduced in 2007 to guide both the executive and legislative arms of government at the centre on expected roles to play at different stages of budget planning, presentation , consideration and passage within stipulated time frame; has not helped in solving the problem as the N2.74trillion 2008 budget planned, presented , considered and passed in line with its provisions ; was signed into law in April 2008 by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, having been forwarded to him by the National Assembly in March , 2008.
Blame game
Since then till this year (2019), the trend has remained the same with attendant blame game over it between the executive and the legislature.
A worrisome example of such scenario was the N8.7trillion 2018 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2017 but spent seven solid months with the federal lawmakers before it was passed in May 2018 as N9.12trillion budgetary proposals.
Within the seven months, blames and counter blames over the delay were fired from the presidency to NASS and vice versa.
While President Buhari and other executive officials wondered what the federal lawmakers were doing with budget proposals for half a year before passage, the legislators, particularly their leadership, fired back by saying it was their constitutional right to screen such proposals very thoroughly regardless of whatever time it would take.
Will 2020 be different?
But both the presidency and leadership of the 9th National Assembly have vowed to stop the ugly trend beginning with the 2020 fiscal year.
Little wonder that both chambers of the National Assembly spent just a week for consideration and passage of the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) forwarded to them by President Buhari penultimate Wednesday.
In clear demonstration of being on the same page in reverting the budget cycle to January / December, while both chambers of the National Assembly were passing the MTEF/FSP documents on Thursday, President Buhari’s letter of request for 2020 budget presentation to the federal lawmakers, landed the same day.
President Buhari in the letter read on the floor of the Senate said: “May I crave the kind indulgence of the Distinguished Senate to grant me the slot of 1400 hours on Tuesday, 8th October, 2019, to formally present the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the Joint session of the National Assembly.
“Please accept, Mr Senate President, the assurances of my highest regards, as I look forward to addressing the joint session”.
NASS passes MTEF/FSP
Before the presidential request, both chambers had in paving way for today’s budget presentation through passage of the MTEF/FSP documents, made critical reviews of the earlier proposals made by the President one of which was the entire aggregate expenditure for the 2020 budget jerked up from N9.1 2trillion to N10.729trillion.
The increase as explained by joint committee on finance of both chambers, arose from $57 approved as oil price bench mark as against $55 proposed by the executive in the MTEF/ FSP documents.
The joint committee explained further in its reports adopted at both chambers that part of the N10.729trillion now proposed as aggregate expenditure profile of the 2020 budget, is N548bn added to the N942.6 bn expected revenues from Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
According to the report, the revenue target of NCS of N942.6 billion for 2020 budget is now increased to N1.5trillion due to improved performance of NCS within the last 9 months.
The report as recommended and adopted by both chambers also states that saving on income accruing from the increase of the oil price benchmark amounting to N172billion which represents the federal government portion of the $2 added to the benchmark, be used to pay salaries and emolument of the proposed 30,000 new employees into the military, Police and some para- military agencies.
The committee also recommended and got adopted, N1.5trillion as the amount for new borrowing as against N1.70trillion proposed by the executive in the MTEF/FSP documents. The N200billion reduction, according to it, is sourced from the increase of revenue target of the Nigeria Custom Service.
Also reduced, is the budget deficit from N1.7trillion to N1.5trillion with attendant increase of the total capital available to MDAs by N357billion, from N1.01trillion to N1.367trillion.
However, most of the other underlining assumptions proposed for the 2020 budget by the executive as contained in the MTEF document, were retained. The assumptions are 2.18 million barrel oil production per day, exchange rate of N305 to a US dollar, GDP growth rate 2.93%, inflation growth rate of 10.81% etc.
Obviously with the presentation of the 2020 budget proposals today by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint sitting of the National Assembly, the federal lawmakers are expected to fulfill their promise of expeditious consideration and passage of it in paving way for the yearly budget cycle to be reverted to January- December.
