2019: N8.83 Trillion Budget Proposal Is Ambitious And Will Be Fruitful – Experts

President Muhammadu Buhari presented an N8.83 trillion budget for next year to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday, which many analysts have described as ambitious, given the regime’s struggles to meet revenue targets.

The president also revealed that it would spend the sum of N305 billion on fuel subsidy in 2019.

According to President Buhari, the exchange rate of N305/$ is to be retained while real GDP growth of 3.01 percent and inflation rate of 9.98 percent are expected in 2019.

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The president and his cabinet members had reviewed and approved a N9.1 trillion spending plan on December 7, 2018 but this was reviewed downwards on revenue constraints.

According to analysts, a trend analysis of the implementation of budgets in the past three years indicates revenue shortfalls amid fluctuation of oil prices and below par remittances from revenue generating units of government, including the oil behemoth, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

An Abuja-based economist, Cyril Ampka, said the reality of the spending plan in the proposed budget is that Nigeria will be grounded so early in the year.

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“The government is not looking at the current reality in the oil market as if the mainstay of the economy has shifted from oil.

“It is a good thing if the diversification effort of the government is yielding the required result to assist in funding the economy. The answer is that Nigeria will be left with fewer opportunities next year”, he said.

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“At $60, the benchmark price could be ambitious,” said Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Company, a risk advisory group based in Lagos.

“It means there could be a shortfall. A shortfall would lead to a deficit and a supplementary budget would then be imminent.”

www.sojworld.com (c) December 20, 2018.