NASS passes N7,441,175,486,758 budget; awaits presidential assent

By Mofoluwake Omololu, Abuja.
The two Houses of the National Assembly has passed a  ₦7,441,175,486,758 (Seven Trillion, Four Hundred and Forty-One Billion, One Hundred and Seven-Five Million, Four Hundred and Eighty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty-Eight Naira only) Budget, but it becomes law only if assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The budget is over N100 billion above the figures presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The much villified Excess Crude Account staged a come-back; and as has been the practice before the preset administration, the Budget bill states: “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall immediately upon the coming into force of this Act maintain a separate record for the documentation of Revenue accruing to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in excess of oil price benchmark adopted in this Budget.
“Such revenues as specified in Subsection (1) of this section refers to Revenues accruing from sales of government crude oil in excess of $44.5 per barrel, the Petroleum Profit Tax and Royalty o
The Accountant-General of the Federation is expected to forward to the National Assembly full details of funds released to government Agencies immediately such funds are released.
Also, all Accounting Officers of Ministries, Parastatals and Departments of government who control heads of expenditures shall upon the coming into effect of this Act furnish the National Assembly on quarterly basis.
The Constituency Projects, a source of disagreement between the Executive and Legislature, is to gulp N100 billion.
Senate President Bukola Saraki could not hide his delight at the passage of the budget.
Said he: “Let me thank in particular the appropriations committee and all the sub committees and members of Appropriations Committee… This is the first time we had public hearing as part of the process for the 2017 appropriations act, the level of engagement and contributions of the civil society as played a part in making this budget a different and a remarkable one.
“Another first we achieved is seeing that the line by line details of the budget was laid down along with bill, again this is a great achievement on the part of us and I commend you all.
“Another first we have achieved is making the budget of the National Assembly available to the public which has been an issue for a long time. I am very proud for what we have been able to achieve and we do hope that this budget of recovery that we believe as reflected equity, it has ensured efficiency and adequate resources to all relevant sectors and will go a long way in helping Nigerians to come out of the economic recession and create growth.
“I want to appreciate the level of consultations and the good working relationship and cooperation that existed with us and the Executive for us to get to this point. This is a remarkable difference from what we saw in 2016 and it shows that the entire country is better for it.
“Lastly we commend all Nigerians, we appreciate their patience and understanding to this point and we believe that the budget we have done this time will bring value to all of us. We have been able to greatly move away from where we are in the past and we continue in our service to ensure that the Executive will see to the implementation of this budget. What we saw in 2016 is commendable on the part of the Executive on implementation and we hope that they will build on that.
“And as for preparing for 2018 it is clear that the minimum of 3 to 4 months is required in other to be able to do a good process and that is why we are appeal on the Executive to ensure that by end of September the latest we can get the 2018 budget so that we can keep to December or January passage.
Out of the ₦7,441,175,486,758 budget, a total of ₦434,412,950,249 is for Statutory Transfers,
One Trillion, Eight Hundred and Forty-One Billion, Three Hundred and Forty-Five Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand, Two Hundred and Six Naira is for Debt Service, ₦177,460,296,707 (One Hundred and Seventy-Seven Billion, Four Hundred and Sixty Million, Two Hundred and Ninety-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seven Naira) only is for Sinking Fund for maturing bonds.
₦2,987,550,033,436 (Two Trillion, Nine  Hundred and  Eighty-Seven  Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty  Million, Thirty-Three Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty-Six Naira) only, is for Recurrent (Non-Debt)  Expenditure while the  sum of  ₦2,177,866,775,867 (Two Trillion,  One Hundred and Seventy-Seven Billion, Eight-Hundred and Sixty-Six Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Seven Naira) is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure (Exclusive of Capital Expenditure in  Statutory  Transfers)
The breakdown is as follows:
Statutory Transfers     
National Judicial Council 100,000,000,000
Niger-Delta Development Commission 64,023,554,666
Universal Basic Education 95,189,395,583
National Assembly 125,000,000,000
Public Complaints Commission 4,000,000,000
INEC 45,000,000,000
National Human Right Commission1,200,000,000
Total — Statutory Transfers 434,412,950,249
For Domestic Debt servicing, N1,488,002,436,547 has been set aside, while Foreign Debt servicing getd N175,882,993,952. In all N1,663,885,430,499 is for this purpose.
Other expenditures  are as follows:
Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure
Head Ministry/Department/Agency (₦)
Executive:
Auditor General for the Federation2,693,253,521
Ministry of Budget and National Planning8,843,198,998
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development31,752,144,051
Ministry of Defence330,543,309,223
Federal Ministry of Education398,686,819,418
Federal Ministry of Environment16,108,983,841
Federal Ministry of Finance9,521,555,393
Ministry of Foreign Affairs56,424,094,037
Federal Ministry of Health252,854,396,662
Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment10,797,165,779
Federal Ministry of Information and Culture40,821,093,321
Federal Ministry of Interior472,597,817,561
Federal Ministry of Justice21,038,344,711
Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment8,626,186,611
Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development10,385,055,182
Federal Ministry of Niger Delta1,764,382,365
Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources63,222,101,051
Federal Ministry of Science and Technology27,785,074,208
Federal Ministry of Transportation14,810,103,581
Federal Ministry of Water Resources7,301,176,944
Federal Ministry of Women Affairs1,466,534,201
Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing32,821,929,055
Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development89,316,015,167
Fiscal Responsibility Commission332,848,038
Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC)5,159,640,131
Infrastructure Concessionary and Regulatory Commission (ICRC)884,624,464
Federal Ministry of Communications Technology11,192,782,734
National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission631,503,868
Office of the National Security Adviser76,281,025,653
Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation6,652,280,969
State House22,947,666,215
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)51,933,366,906
Sub-Total: Executive N2,086,196,473,860
Federal Executive Bodies:
Code of Conduct Bureau2,337,582,923
Code of Conduct Tribunal573,778,581
Federal Character Commission2,158,721,471
Federal Civil Service Commission943,761,945
National Population Commission5,563,110,903
Police Service Commission705,772,631
Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission2,061,930,637
Sub-Total: Federal Executive Bodies N14,344,659,090
Service-Wide Votes and Pensions
Expenditure Items
Pensions and Gratuities
Total Allocation:191,631,846,958
Office of the Head of the Civil Service (Civilian Pension)33,290,715,716
Pensions28,391,013,524
Gratuities2,300,000,000
Benefits of Retired Heads of the Civil Service of the Federation and Federal2,599,702,192
Military Pensions and Gratuities (DMP)71,156,115,576
Pensions65,619,472,577
2017 Expected Retirees3,170,929,878
Death Benefits2,115,713,121
Pension Running Costs150,000,000
2017 Verification Costs50,000,000
Administrative Costs50,000,000
Police Pensions and Gratuities7,412,463,652
Pensions7,412,463,652
Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office8,420,000,000
Pensions8,420,000,000
Universities’ Pensions Including Arrears14,343,326,479
Pensions14,343,326,479
Parastatals Pensions
Pensions26,756,754,031
Pre-1996 Nigeria Railway Corporation Pension2,257,298,262
Pensions2,257,298,262
Department of State Security7,643,405,446
Pensions (Including Arrears)7,643,405,446
Nigeria Intelligence Agency3,709,146,567
Pensions/dependants Benefits3,709,146,567
NELMCO16,642,621,229
NELMCO Pension/Arrears16,642,621,229
Service Wide Votes
Total Allocation:228,677,053,528
Service-wide Votes Pensions89,977,053,528
Arrears of 33% Increase in Pension Rate — Military14,481,244,610
Arrears of Pension Liabilities3,000,000,000
Payment of Outstanding Death Benefit to Civil Servants/Police5,000,000,000
Payment into the Redemption Fund (5% of Total Personnel Cost)
including Arrears of 2014 and 2015 50,195,808,918
Group Life Insurance for all MDAs Including DSS/Insurance of
Sensitive Assets/Corpers plus Administration and Monitoring 15,000,000,000
Entitlements of Former Presidents/Heads of State and Vice-Presidents/Chiefs of General Staff 2,300,000,000
Other Service-Wide Votes138,700,000,000
Public Service Wage Adjustment for MDAs (Including Arrears of
Promotion and Salary Increases) and Payment of Severance Benefits 30,200,000,000
Military Operations : Lafiya Dole and Other Operations of the Armed Forces25,000,000,000
Contribution to International Organisations/external Financial Obligations10,000,000,000
Margin for Increases in Costs and Recurrent Adjustment Costs5,000,000,000
Contingency (Recurrent)15,000,000,000
Employees Compensation Act — Employees’ Compensation Fund4,000,000,000
Payment for Outsourced Services1,500,000,000
Service Wide Training of Budget/Planning Officers on GIFMIS Budget Preparation System (BPs) as well as Monitoring and Evaluation ofall Projects Nationwide 2,000,000,000
TSA Operations4,000,000,000
IPPIS Capturing2,000,000,000
Settlement of MDAs Electricity Bills40,000,000,000
Refunds to Special Accounts40,000,000,000
Special Intervention (Recurrent)350,000,000,000
Presidential Amnesty Programme: Stipends, Operations and Reintegration76,700,000,000
Total CRF Charges887,008,900,486
Total Recurrent (Non-Debt)2,987,550,033,436
Capital Expenditure
Head Ministry/Department/Agency (₦)
Executive:
Auditor General for the Federation90,509,818
Ministry of Budget and National Planning4,092,773,627
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development103,793,201,010
Ministry of Defence139,294,920,350
Federal Ministry of Education56,720,969,147
Federal Ministry of Environment12,479,369,455
Federal Ministry of Finance5,181,348,624
Ministry of Foreign Affairs10,291,783,534
Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment81,726,971,059
Federal Ministry of Information and Culture9,546,245,041
Federal Ministry of Interior63,760,562,487
Federal Ministry of Justice12,705,755,001
Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment8,803,520,400
Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development12,455,000,000
Federal Capital Territory Administration30,397,122,872
Federal Ministry of Niger Delta34,201,500,001
Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources6,793,128,647
Federal Ministry of Science and Technology41,699,655,490
Federal Ministry of Transportation241,709,000,000
Federal Ministry of Water Resources104,245,803,117
Federal  Ministry of Women Affairs4,250,732,000
Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing553,713,857,113
Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development5,441,000,000
Fiscal Responsibility Commission148,155,391
Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC)767,865,170
Infrastructure Concessionary and Regulatory Commission  (ICRC)34,310,245
Federal Ministry of Communications Technology8,434,669,142
National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission163,121,916
Office of the National Security Adviser47,209,203,765
Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation1,974,176,735
State House20,066,000,000
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)32,778,490,342
Sub-Total: Executive1,710,580,601,619
Federal Executive Bodies:
Code of Conduct Bureau1,394,854,364
Code of Conduct Tribunal513,616,705
 
Federal Character Commission400,000,000
 
Federal Civil Service Commission16,171,828
 
National Population Commission3,936,308,554
 
Police Service Commission758,900,000
 
Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission229,093,337
 
Sub-Total: Federal Executive Bodies 7,248,944,788
Total: Executive and Federal Executive Bodies1,717,829,546,407
Capital Supplementation:
 
Total Allocation:310,037,229,460
 
GIFMIS/IPPIS Capital5,000,000,000
 
OSSAP- SDGs (Special Projects)9,000,000,000
 
OSSAP-SDGs (Conditional Grants)10,000,000,000
 
OSSAP-SDGs (Social Safety Nets)15,902,000,000
 
Capital Exigencies/Adjustment to Capital Cost5,000,000,000
 
National Development Plans (Ministry of Budget and National Planning)1,000,000,000
Head of Service (Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board)    1,000,000,000
Zonal Intervention Projects100,000,000,000
North-East Intervention Fund45,000,000,000
Counterpart Funding Including Global Fund/Health3,500,000,000
Payment of Local Contractors’ Debts/Other Liabilities20,000,000,000
Galaxy Backbone4,000,000,000
Contingency (Capital)10,000,000,000
Recapitalisation of Development Finance Institutions15,000,000,000
Subscriptions to Shares in International Organisations28,635,229,460
SDG: Special Intervention Project 112,000,000,000
SDG: Special Intervention Project 28,000,000,000
Facilities and Technical Services14,500,000,000
Implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and Establishment of Delivery Unit at the Presidency 2,500,000,000
Total — Capital Supplementation310,037,229,460
Capital in FGN Special Intervention Programme150,000,000,000
Total Capital Expenditure2,177,866,775,867
Aggregate Expenditure7,441,175,486,758