FG proposes N9.79tr budget for 2020

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said that the Federal Government will propose N9.79 trillion as total expenditure for the 2020 budget,

Ahmed disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a public consultation forum with civil society groups and agencies on the draft 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

The amount represents an increase of 9.75 per cent over the N8.916 trillion spending for 2019.

The projection includes proposed revenue of N7.64 trillion and total proposed fiscal deficit component of about N2.142 trillion.

The minister said the key assumptions of the budget were based on an oil production capacity of 2.18 million barrels per day, crude oil price of $55 per barrel, against $60 per barrel last year, and exchanged rate of N305 to the dollar.

Also, she said inflation rate for the year is projected at an average of 10.81 per cent, with nominal consumption figure of about N122.75 trillion and nominal gross domestic product of N142.96 trillion. The GDP growth rate is put at about 2.93 per cent.

On the expenditure, the minister said debt service is projected to increase from N2.14 trillion in 2019 to about N2.45trillion; Statutory Transfer of N526.46 billion, from N502.1 billion in 2019; and sinking fund of N296 billion, from N110 billion.

Also, recurrent non-debt appropriation was put at about N4.57 trillion against N4.39 trillion in the 2019 Budget.

A breakdown of the non-debt proposal, the minister said, includes Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) personnel cost of N2.675 trillion; Government-owned enterprises (GOEs) personnel costs (N218.8 billion; overheads for MDAs (N280.3 billion; overheads of GOEs (N146.14 billion).

Also, proposals for pensions, gratuity and retirement benefits will be about N536.72billion; transfers Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) for power sector reform programme (N59.44 billion; Service-wide votes (N418.7 billion), and Presidential Amnesty Programme (N65 billion).