By Law Mefor
Budget presentation by the Executive
Arm of Government to the National
Assembly for Appropriation has since
become nothing but an annual hollow,
redundant ritual. The budget is never
implemented, thus making nonsense of
the time and expense deployed to
passing it into law in the first place. The
2014 Budget is no exception either.
The first signs that 2014 Budget is also
doomed to fail like the rest started with
the President and the National Assembly
disagreeing on the Oil Benchmark. Owing
to this, the President had to delegate the
Minister of Finance to perform the
presentation ritual, the first time it is
happening in Nigeria. Though the
President is not duty-bound by the
Constitution or any other extant law to
lay the budget in person, it has since
become a welcome tradition that he does
so and it also offers the President an
opportunity to feel the legislative arm of
government and create a latitude for a
sustained camaraderie and
rapprochement between the arms of
government. So, for the President to
decline, and not for any national
exigency, is indicative of impending
turbulent budget year. One also can only
hope that the budget get passed within
the 2nd Quarter of 2014, as the First
Quarter appears doomed already with the
National Assembly resuming only on the
15th of January.
The content of the 2014 budget proposal
is not inspiring. Over 70% of the entire
budget is going to Recurrent Expenditure.
Out of the N4.6 Trillion budget for 2014,
only 27% is for Capital. If passed
generally as it is, out of this 27%, only
about 30% will eventually be
implemented, going by when the budget
will be passed which can not be earlier
than April, and going by the 2013 budget
performance, which dismally stands at
about 35%. We need to also note that
things like computers are listed as
Capital whereas they are not, in the strict
sense. Are we really serious about exiting
poverty and underdevelopment by
servicing only recurrent expenditure?
The Minister of Finance and the
Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had once promised
to devise ways to drastically reduce
Recurrent Expenditure and shore up the
Capital. But from what she laid before
the National Assembly, one can see she
is not working in that direction or she
has given in.
There is no way Nigeria can exit the
poverty belt in the manner the issue of
Budget is handled. Fact is: actual
development is hinged on Capital
development. There has never been a
time, since the return to Civil Rule in
1999, where Recurrent Expenditure is not
implemented 100% and this essentially
goes for the servicing of the bloated
bureaucracy and political office holders,
to the detriment of the economy and
suffering masses.
Recurrent Expenditure has very little if
not nothing to do with the suffering
masses of Nigeria. Whereas Capital
Expenditure, which is where the masses
can feel the impact of development and
dividends of democracy, has never been
implemented up to 50% since 1999.
Over the years, the rate of Capital budget
performance has continued to dwindle;
this year's budget performance is clearly
below 40% where it comes to Capital
whereas Government has already hit
100% implementation of Recurrent
Expenditure. Government does not exist
for the sole servicing of bureaucracy and
politicians. The people who directly
benefit from these amorphous budgets
are not up to 1% of Nigeria's population,
and something must be done to focus
more on the rest 99%, by reducing the
cost of running Government in Nigeria,
which appears too expensive.
The way and manner therefore budgets
are prepared, passed and implemented in
Nigeria is nothing but annual ritualistic
redundancy and cannot lead to staged
development. In fact, it has led to further
disarticulation of the economy and
making it impossible for the country to
be economically independent. Neocolonial
economies can become independent if
production is encouraged and need of
citizens to purchase mainly foreign goods
put in check. But today, Nigeria is not
budgeting for the stimulation of
productivity and doing something to add
value to the primary products the nation
exports, especially oil.
The Executive Arm is also known to
blatantly violate the Appropriation Act by
simply ignoring it and carrying on
regardless of its provisions, despite being
a (pivotal) law. Examples of this abound:
the President was reported days ago to
have instructed the Minister of Finance
to find funds for the National Confab and
there is no place such funds are provided
for in the budget before the National
Assembly. Another example; Stella
Oduah just approved the purchase of
bullet proof cars and other vehicles
running into about a billion naira without
any appropriation, as shown in the
Report of the House Committee on
Aviation headed by Hon. Onyejeocha,
turned in just this week. Whereas the
1999 Constitution as amended, clearly
stipulates that there shall be no
Governmental Expenditure without
appropriation.
The willful and flagrant violation of the
Appropriation Act forms part of the
culture of impunity, which is destroying
the nation by fueling corruption, as
institutions of Government are trampled
upon by the same Government officials
who should strengthen and defend them.
Impunity breeds corruption and
corruption breeds underdevelopment, as
the funds meant for development are
stolen in broad-day light.
Nigeria needs to make a clean break
from the current undemocratic practice
and do away with the prevailing culture
of impunity and executive lawlessness,
for violation of the Appropriation Act is
an assault on the Constitution and
therefore a grave offense, apart from the
injury it inflicts on macroeconomic
planning and development of the country.
Let us make a square facing to nation
building and national development and
where to start is by ensuring that at no
time is the Recurrent Expenditure higher
than the Capital Expenditure. For a
growing economy, it is the only way to
ensure Staged Development.
Law Mefor, Forensic Psychologist and
Journalist, is National Coordinator,
Transform Nigeria Movement (TNM)

mobile.saharareporters.com/article/budget-2014-another-ritualistic-redundancy-law-mefor

The content of the 2014 budget proposal
is not inspiring. Over 70% of the entire
budget is going to Recurrent Expenditure.
Out of the N4.6 Trillion budget for 2014,
only 27% is for Capital.

this is so shameful, to think that the 2011 budget had reccurent expenditure of 75% and 2014 still is about 70% is unbelievable. What difference is ngozi's input.

here is obasanjo's 2007 budget despite being an election year.

recurrent expenditure = 57%
capital projects = 43%.

I fear for Nigeria under Gej government.

www.thenigeriabusiness.com/eco5.html

These are d kind of issues I expect nlers to take seriously

Obiagelli: here is obasanjo's 2007 budget despite being an election year.

recurrent expenditure = 57%
capital projects = 43%.

I fear for Nigeria under Gej government.

www.thenigeriabusiness.com/eco5.html

For the useless mumus which nigeria seems to produce by the millions,
This is one the most important thing in judging the presidency.
DRUNKEN MASTER AND THE FORIEGN SPY ,CHEMISTRY GRADUATE NGOZI ARE SPENDING N70 NAIRA OUT OF EVERY N100 ON THEMSELVES.
THAT IS WHY THAT SO CALLED PERFORMANCE IS ONLY IN FRESH AIR,
WHILE WHEN NOT REPAINTING ANTIQUATED BUILDINGS, HE GOES ABOUT COMMISSIONING OBASANJO'S AND UMARU PROJECT.
FACT IS , NIGERIA IS DONE FOR ONCE ,
IRAN AND IRAQ OIL PRODUCTION GATHER STEAM.

What steps do you suggest for reduction of recurrent expenditure?

Mass layoff of workers?

Reduction in civil servants pay?

Reducing the money allocated to legislative chambers? Et al

Each of the steps listed above above will surely have side effects like strikes, impeachment threats etc. Mind you, a good chunck of the recurrent expenditure is used for addressing the perilious security situation in the country.

If you were the president, what would you do in a country like Nigeria where every action is perceived to have a political, ethnic or religious undertone?