FG Cuts Budget For Renovation of NASS Complex By 75% to N9.25 Billion

The Federal Government has dropped budget allocation for the renovation of the National Assembly (NASS) complex by 75 percent in yet another blatant disregard for priorities. Initially, the government had budgeted N37 billion for the renovation of the NASS complex, a capital allocation fixed under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) budget. Analysis of the revised 2020 budget showed that the Federal Government reduced budget allocation for the renovation from ₦37 billion to ₦9.25 billion, despite calls by Nigerians for outright removal. It is not certain if the Senate Committee on Finance will touch its budget.

Apart from calls for its total removal by Nigerians, one would have expected the Federal Government to adjust proposed spending in line with economic realities and dwindling revenue. The global pandemic – COVID-19 – allowed government and policymakers to rethink and retrace steps, especially African leaders, over frivolous budget items.

₦32.75 Billion Naira cut in Federal Capital Territory Administration

From the overall FCTA budget allocation, the government cut ₦32.75 billion from the FCT budget. It had ₦62.41 billion in the 2020 budget but was dropped to ₦29.66 billion in the revised budget. The FCTA cut represents 52.5 percent of the total Administration’s 2020 budget allocation.

National Assembly Finance Committee Completes 2020 Budget Review

On Tuesday, Senator Yayi Adeola (APC/Lagos West)  presented the report on the Committee on Finance on the 2020-2022 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the Senate. Quoting a statement from the official Twitter handle of the Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate), Senator Adeola said the review was necessitated by largely the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the fall in demand for oil as a result of the impact of Covid19. The details of the Senate review is not yet available to the public.

Revised 2020 Budget for National Assembly

For the National Assembly, the Federal Government cut budget allocation by ₦12.8 billion from ₦128 billion to ₦115.2 billion, representing a 10 percent cut.

Also, in the revised 2020 budget, the National Assembly will get ₦1 billion for constitution review, ₦2 billion for the construction of the National Assembly Library (NLIDS), and a ₦100 billion budget for Zonal Intervention Projects. The total expenditure for the National Assembly – directly or indirectly – amounts to ₦218.2 billion. This figure represents 2.07 percent of the total budget size at ₦10.51 trillion (10,509,654,033,054).

Dataphyte Frowns at Misplaced Development Priorities

In a series of reports on the revised 2020 budget, DATAPHYTE decried heavy cuts on capital expenditure over recurrent expenditure. Chief among these were the cuts in key critical sectors of the economy, including health, education, and agriculture. For instance, capital allocation to the education sector was cut by 55%, while health was dropped by 42% amidst ravaging COVID-19. 

The revised budget also reduced the provision for health insurance enrolment and coverage (National Health Insurance Scheme) by 30 percent. Further analysis by Dataphyte showed two key budget lines that were unrelated to health, to the tune of ₦80 million were retained. These are budget of the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, a line item – ERGP5146628 | FUMIGATION OF FARMS IN ISIALA NGWA NORTH LGA, ABIA STATE – adjusted from ₦100 million to ₦50 million. Another line item under the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru Yobe – ERGP25146584 CONSTRUCTION OF 2 BLOCKS OF CLASSROOMS – was reduced from ₦100 million to ₦70 million.  

Experts continue to advocate for a budget that will respond to the challenges of inadequate human resources for health, poor health infrastructure, inadequate supply of consumables, which are leaving mothers and children to die in thousands annually.

Editor’s Note: The percentages in the headline and some part of the story have been corrected.