Where’s the austerity?
The 2015 Budget Appropriation Bill as presented to the National Assembly on December 18, 2014 contradicts the basic economic definition of austerity. If the common man is a priority in government’s strategy, the sharp dip in the capital expenditure negates that notion. Austerity describes policies used to tighten government expenditure, close loopholes that cause revenue losses and a gross reduction of budget deficits during adverse economic conditions. However, from the recent steps taken, Nigeria is simply prioritizing government staffing and wage bills, as against the overall health of the economy.

From Table 1 below, based on BudgIT’s analysis, recurrent expenditure (salaries, overheads, statutory transfers and debt service costs) totaled N3.97trillion, which is an unbelievable 91% of the entire 2015 budget proposal. Our analysis treats subsidy for reinvestment and empowerment programme (SURE-P) as an externality to the aggregate budget, because except the oil price rises, the landing cost of fuel will still be low, leaving too little savings for SURE-P. Typically, this is to say that the aggregate budget as presented currently is to keep government running – nothing more.

While presenting the budget, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, subtly micromanaged the flaws in the 2015 Appropriation Bill, announcing to the world that Nigeria will be running a capital budget of N634billion, leaving Nigerians with the impression that the capital expenditure figure is inclusive of SURE-P.

If the total recurrent expenditure of N3.97trillion (as placed in Table1 above) is removed from the aggregate budget expenditure of N4.358trillion, then “the common man’s priority ” – the capital expenditure – will come down to a paltry N387billion, a mere 9% of the budget.
Comparing the 2015 capital vote of N387billion to N1.119trillion provision in 2014, the stark difference is very frightening. This corroborates BudgIT’s recent policy paper, which asserted that capital expenditure would be under severe threat in an era of declining oil prices.
To actually show that government is not applying any cuts, note that statutory transfers to public institutions, such as National Assembly, National Judicial Council, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), etc. go up from N408.69billion (2014) to N411.84billion (2015 proposed), notoriously higher than the Capital budget (N387billion) in a country with a gross infrastructure deficit?

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/173682-budgit-analysis-2015-budget-shows-nigerian-govt-not-committed-austerity-measures-oil-price-falls.html

meanwhile Lagos has a budget of 49% recurrent and 51% capital expenditure!

Typing..............

Seun ...Lalasticlala please FP let's debate the budget as it affects all of us

Stealing together since independence

It's terrible!

you see the grim picture....

Realdeals:
It's terrible!

This government isn't serious yet about making the hard choices. Where are the cuts? If every MDA is mandated to provide a budget with 40% cut, it would become evident how the revenue during the oil price boom was frittered away with needless expenditures.

True!

chemali:
This government isn't serious yet about making the hard choices. Where are the cuts? If every MDA is mandated to provide a budget with 40% cut, it would become evident how the revenue during the oil price boom was frittered away with needless expenditures.

obviously he is Just Kidding!

coldsummer:
GEJ is not serious yet!!!