FG Budgets N3.85trn for Capital Projects in 2021
The 2021 budget estimates submitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari has N3.85 trillion for capital projects.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed disclosed at the budget breakdown held in Abuja.
Mrs Ahmed said the proposed capital allocations include N745billion for capital supplementation, N710bilion for projects funded by multilateral and bilateral loans, 110.80 billion for MDAs’ expenditure, N247billion for capital component for statutory transfers and N355billion for grants and Aid-funded projects.
Others are N366bn for sixty(60) government owned Enterprises(GOEs), N25bn for Nigeria Youth Investment Fund while N20bn was allocated to Family Homes Fund.
From the budget breakdown, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning will receive a substantial portion of the 2021 federal budget if approved by the National Assembly.
It includes a total of N615.3 billion for personnel expenses; about N3.66 trillion for overheads, and about N1.13 trillion for capital expenditure.
A breakdown of the allocations revealed that the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning headquarters got N230.4 billion; Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (N4.85 billion); the Budget Office of the Federation (N2.144 billion); Investment and Securities Tribunal (N618.3 million) and Service Wide Vote (N1.66 trillion).
Others include to the National Bureau of Statistics (N6.69 billion); Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD) Headquarters (N2.82 billion); Centre for Management Development (N 2.24 billion) and Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (N1.552 billion).
Apart from the provision of N2.16 million to each of the 37 Federal Pay Offices along with seven other zonal offices across the country, another N3.24 million was allocated to the Federal Treasury Academy, Orozo in Nasarawa State for the financial year.
A closer look at the provisions revealed that the appropriation for the finance ministry was raised by the high provision in the budget for debt service and settlement of outstanding obligations to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET).
The federal government recently announced the removal of subsidy on electricity, the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) however, over N700 billion shortfall is still outstanding against the government.
The shortfall, the DISCOs argue, was as a result of the government not allowing a review of electricity tariff since 2016.
Out of the total N13.08 trillion expenditure outlay in the 2021 Budget , N3.124 trillion has been set aside for debt servicing and N5.65 trillion for non-debt recurrent costs.
Meanwhile, the Debt Management Office (DMO) was allocated about N3.35 billion for overheads, or over 62 per cent of the total budgetary allocation for the entire ministry, 43 Federal Pay Offices and the Federal Treasury Academy, Orozo, got N96.12 million for Overheads.
The NBET got an allocation of N152.42 billion as capital for the settlement of accumulated deficit commitments under the Power Sector Reform Programme.
Of the total allocation to the DMO, N220 billion is expected to go into the Sinking Fund, about N3.12 trillion would be for public debt charges, consisting N2.18 trillion for interest on internal public debts and N940.89billion for interest on external public debts.
For the service-wide vote, key provisions include N100 billion for the various zonal intervention projects, in addition to N20 billion for special intervention programmes/projects; payment of local contractors’ debts (N15 billion), and recapitalisation of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) N15 billion.
The Presidential Amnesty Programme was allocated N65 billion, while Operation Lafiya Dole and other contingency operations of the armed forces were allocated N100 billion.