The Federal Government has proposed a budget estimate of N9.789 trillion for next year.
Finance Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who dropped the hint on Tuesday, reeled out the figures (N10, 110, 193, 322, 738) for 2021 and (N10, 418, 391, 196, 907) 2022.
According to the Nation, she announced the proposals while presenting the draft of the 2020 to 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper in Abuja.
According to her, the government would start the deduction of the N614 billion budget support facility from state government accounts this month.
She said the states, except Lagos, would start getting direct debit notifications from their monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements.
“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.
“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.”
Last month, the Federal Government announced the setting up of a committee to facilitate the recovery of N614 billion given to the states.
Each of the benefitting state is expected to pay back the equivalent of N17.5 billion.
She said that N650 billion was a conditional budget support provided by the CBN to help states pay salaries, gratuities and pensions.
The CBN provided the N650 billion in loans at nine per cent with a grace period of two years. The Federal Ministry of Finance helped in the disbursements with documented approval by the presidency.
