#Budget2018 Highlights/Background

The President submitted the 2018 Budget proposals to the National Assembly on 7th November 2017.

The National Assembly finally passed the 2018 Appropriation Bill one hundred and ninety (190) days later, on May 16, 2018.

The N9.12 trillion version passed by the National Assembly contained an increase of N508 billion over and above the N8.612 trillion originally presented by President Buhari. The oil benchmark price was also increased from the US$45 submitted to US$51.

The plan was that the early submission would allow for quick passage to enable Nigeria commence a predictable January-December financial year starting in 2018.

During the process of the passage of the Bill, the National Assembly altered it significantly, making cuts amounting to 347 billion Naira in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration, and introducing 6,403 projects of their own, amounting to 578 billion Naira.

These cuts affected several critical projects, including but not limited to the following:

- Mambilla Power Plant
- Second Niger Bridge/ancillary roads
- The East-West Road
- Bonny-Bodo Road
- Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
- Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project
- Abuja Mass Transit rail project
- Various strategic interventions in the health sector (upgrade of some tertiary health institutions, transport and storage of vaccines, provision of anti-retroviral drugs, establishment of chemotherapy centres, procurement of dialysis consumables)
- Provision of security infrastructure in the 104 Unity Schools nationwide
- The Federal Government’s National Housing Programme
- Pension Redemption Fund and Public Service Wage Adjustment.
- Export Expansion Grant (EEG)
- Special Economic Zones/Industrial Parks
- Construction of the Terminal Building at Enugu Airport
- Take-off Grant for the Maritime University in Delta State

In addition, about seventy (70) new road projects have been inserted into the budget of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

The National Assembly increased provisions for Statutory Transfers by 73.96 billion Naira -- most of it recurrent expenditure -- at a time the Buhari Administration is doing its best to keep recurrent expenditure down and prioritise capital spending.

The National Assembly increased its own budget by 14.5 billion Naira, from 125 billion Naira to 139.5 billion Naira, without any discussion or consultation with the Executive.

The Budget signed into Law today by President Buhari provides for aggregate expenditures of 9.12 trillion Naira, which is 22.6% higher than the 2017 Appropriation.

Further details of the Signed budget will be provided by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, at a Public Presentation event to be held at 10am on Thursday June 21, 2018, at the Rotunda Conference Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.

The President remains determined to continue to work with the National Assembly towards improving the budgeting process and restoring Nigeria to the January-December fiscal cycle.