2-IN-1 STORY: FG: ₦565bn Recovered Loot Forms Part Of 2017 Budget

President Muhammadu Buhari presents the 2016 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja

A total of ₦565billion stolen funds have been recovered by the government and included in the 2017 budget.

Media report continues:

This is revealed in a revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) submitted to the National Assembly last week.

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present a proposed budget of ₦7.28 trillion for 2017 at a joint session of the National Assembly today, an increase of ‎about 19.95 per cent over 2016 budget of ₦6.07 trillion.

The MTEF, however, showed that the amount included US$320million equivalent to ₦97.6 billion Abacha loot being expected from the Swiss government.

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said yesterday the money was almost ready.

“It is virtually at hand... We believe we will get it,” he said during a meeting with the Senate Committees on Finance, Appropriation and National Planning on MTEF/Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

The recovered funds included ₦261billion domestic recoveries and another ₦205.5 billion tagged “other FGN recoveries.”

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in June revealed that the government had recovered cash totalling ₦78.3billion, US$185million, £3.5million Pounds Sterling and €11, 250.

The Federal government targeted collectible revenue of ₦10.4trillion from gross oil revenue of ₦5trillion, dividend payment (NLNG) ₦61billion, Solid minerals ₦2.5billion, gross non-oil revenue ₦5.06trillion, Non-federation account levies ₦53billion, education tax ₦188.7billion and National Information Technology Development Fund ₦24billion.

Also, the Federal government is proposing to borrow ₦2.3trillion to finance deficit in the 2017 budget.  While ₦1.2 trillion is expected to be sourced locally, ₦1.067trillion would be sourced from abroad.

For debt service, the Federal government proposed ₦1.6 trillion for both domestic and foreign debts.

In the document, ₦115billion was budgeted for the National Assembly for the 2017 fiscal year same as in 2016.

On borrowing for 2017 budget, Udoma said the government would take ₦1.067trillion equivalent to US$3.5billion from World Bank and Euro bond.

Also speaking, the Director General of the Budget office, Mr. Ben Akabueze said the ₦1.2trillion domestic loan for the 2016 budget has been fully drawn.  

Similarly, the House of Representatives yesterday commenced consideration of the 2017-2019 MTEF/FSP ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s budget presentation today.

The consideration was sequel to a motion by House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, who said the MTEF was submitted in line with Section 11 (2) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.

He said the Act also provides that MTEF should contain a macro-economic framework setting out the macro-economic projections for the next three financial years.

After debate on the motion, with some lawmakers arguing that some of the projections were not feasible, the House referred the two documents to the committees on finance, appropriations, national planning and economic development, legislative budget and research and, aids, loans and debt management to scrutinize and make recommendations to the House.

N/Assembly wears new look

Meanwhile, our correspondents observed that the National Assembly premises wore a new look ahead of Buhari’s budget presentation.

It was observed that some major parts of the building, especially the White House, where the two chambers of the federal legislature are located, were painted yesterday, while the grasses around the premises were trimmed.

Daily Trust further gathered that all civil servants and many other support staff at the National Assembly were asked not to come to work today as the president presents the budget estimates.

FG Uncovers ₦2.2tn Unrecorded Debts After Audit

Meanwhile The Punch reports that the Federal Government has discovered unrecorded debts of ₦2.2tn (US$7.22bn) left over from the previous administration.

It said in a tweet that the debts were uncovered after an audit aimed at improving transparency, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

“(The) ₦2.2tn unrecorded debt(s) owed contractors/private sector found on (the) Federal Government’s books, inherited from previous administration,” the message, posted on twitter, stated.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had on Sunday said in a statement that the debts were owed to contractors, oil marketers, exporters and electricity distribution companies.

Adeosun said they would be settled by issuing a 10-year promissory note.

President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to restore financial sanity in Nigeria, accusing previous governments of throwing the rule books “to the dogs,” according to Reuters.

The debts amount to 2.3 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, according to analysts at Ecobank. Nigeria has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 16.6 per cent.

The Ecobank analysts said investors might worry about the potential of more debt to emerge, with oil receipts and foreign inflows declining, which could push up Nigeria’s bond yields and increase the government’s cost of servicing its debt.

The Federal Government planned a record N6.06tn budget for this year, but it has struggled to fund it.

It now plans to increase the 2016 amount by 20 per cent for next year’s budget to help lift the economy out of recession.

The Federal Government had last week named Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank to manage a planned US$1bn Eurobond sale and hopes to start the issuance process in January.

The country is facing its worst economic crisis in 25 years, brought on by low oil prices, which have slashed government revenue, hammered the naira and caused chronic dollar shortages, thereby frustrating businesses.