Senate may delay passage of 2018 budget

The senate on Tuesday challenged Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, over the federal government’s insistence on passing the 2018 budget in January when less than 50 percent of the 2017 budget was implemented.

The upper chamber also queried why the 2017 budget had no correlation to the 2018 budget, insisting the implementation, if passed by January, would be poor because of the size of Nigeria.

John Eno, Chairman Senate Committee on finance, made the position known during the budget defence of the ministry.

Eno asked to know how the ministry achieved 64 percent budget performance in 2017 when other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) were nearly scratching below 40 percent.

Responding, Adeosun said the ministry was working to raise all the MDAs to 50 percent performance before the end of the year.

On leakages in federal government earnings, she said the ministry would look into other agencies, outside the Federal Inland Revenue Service, that could augment earnings as pointed out.

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“We have taken on board some of key reform initiatives. A total of N306 billion is expected from privatisation and N5 billion from sale of other government’s property to finance the deficit,” she said.

She said oil revenue would contribute 37 percent of the total revenue of N6.6 trillion.

Others, according to her, are recovered looted funds, 7.8 percent; tax amnesty, 1.3 percent; signature bonus, 1.7 per cent; joint venture equity restructuring, 10.7 percent; grants and donors funding, three percent and others, 5.5 percent.

The minister said the revenue targeted for 2017 was largely achieved, with a record of 64 percent performance.