Capital Performance Lower Than 35% As At September – Saraki

By Blessing Anaro

Senate President, Olusola Saraki, has revealed that only 35 per cent of capital allocation has so far been spent, as at September this year.

Saraki, who spoke on Macroeconomic Outlook for 2016 and Legislative Perspective,” at the Lagos Business School Breakfast Club end of year dinner yesterday in Lagos said, “The 2015 budget benchmark oil price was pegged at $53pb and oil production of 2.2782mbpd, the exchange rate was projected at N190/$. The Budget had an outlay of N4.493 trillion implying a deficit of N1.041 trillion financed mainly by borrowing in a budget in which 78 per cent targeted recurrent expenditure. Oil revenues although lower than projected continued to dominate government revenues.

“Of the total appropriated and a supplementary budget of N574.53 billion on security and subsidy etc. N3.4trillion has been spent as at September for both recurrent and capital with the shortfall in revenue being made up by additional financing from borrowing. This also means that the capital performance of the budget has been lower than 35 per cent or N194.7 billion of N557 billion that has been spent.

“As we speak today, we are on the verge of introducing the first part of PIB for first reading. This sets out a new governance and institutional structure for the oil and gas industry. The emphasis of the bill is to create a world class oil and gas sector, competitive, open and simple, that would enable the emergence of an efficient oil and gas sector comparable to any other in the world,” he disclosed.

He warned that the senate would not tolerate wastage. “We will deploy our legislative resources to present to the nation an effective, efficient and implementable budget.”

“The National Assembly will pay particular attention to non-oil revenue. We will work with the executive to expand the economic base by freeing the private sector.”