FEC to approve N8.60trn 2018 budget estimates

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) will on Thursday hold a special session to deliberate on the proposal of Budget Office of the Federation (BoF) for Federal Government to spend a total N8.60 trillion in 2018.

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Femi Adesina made this known through his tweeter handle on Wednesday and it will be the first time that FEC meeting is being moved from Wednesday.

Nigerian Tribune had on Monday exclusively reported that FEC would consider and approve the proposal this week in order for Buhari to formally present it to National Assembly before the end of October.

According to details of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2018-2020 submitted to both chambers of the National Assembly last week, average oil production is for the year is estimated at 2.3mbpd; crude oil benchmark is fixed for $45pb; exchange rate will be N305/US$; Non-oil GDP- 107,108; and Oil GDP- 5,981.

Government projects GDP to grow at 3.5 percent in 2018, contrary to both International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank forecasts, estimating Nigeria to grow by about 1.8 percent in 2018; while inflation is expected to moderate to 12.42 percent.

Aggregate revenue for the year is projected at N5.65 trillion (11.0% or N562.50 billion over the 2017 estimate of N5.08 trillion) out of which 43.2% will come from oil sources with the balance to be earned from non-oil sources.

“Aggregate expenditure is estimated at N8.60 trillion (this include grants and donor funding of N199.91 billion naira).

“This provision exceeds 2017 aggregate expenditure estimate of N7.44 trillion by 15.5% (or about N1.16 trillion).

“Of the total expenditure estimates, up to N2.60 trillion (inclusive of capital in transfers) is targeted at capital expenditure, representing 30.0% of the budget.

“The allocation of this resource among the various spending Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of government is driven by government’s execution priorities and strategic focus outlined in the ERGP.

“Over the medium term, government will continue to focus on critical sectors that quickly turn-around real sector growth.

“A provision of N1.93 trillion has been made in the medium term to address the constraints which had previously incapacitated the power sector in line with the PSRP.

“Other key spending includes personnel cost which is estimated at N2.12 trillion and debt service of N2.03 trillion.

“Following from the revenue projections and expenditure estimates, the fiscal deficit is estimated to increase by about N592.75 billion (or 25.0%) from the estimate of N2.36 trillion in 2018”, the MTEF document forecast.