The 2015 budget
estimates passed second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives
Wednesday despite intense debating focusing on its review as a result of the
obvious vagaries of plummeting oil prices globally.
The
budget is still predicated on an oil benchmark price of N65 per barrel just as
the current price of oil has slipped down drastically from the budget
projections.
This
prompted many of the lawmakers to ask the federal government to trim capital
expenditure and exploit more avenues for revenue generation.
House
Leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande set the ball rolling for the debate after she
moved for the second reading of a bill for an Act "to authorize the issue
from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the federation the total sum of
N4.357 trillion."
By
virtue of section 82 the president is allowed to withdraw money from the (CRF)
if the budget has not been passed. However, he cannot exceed the limit
provided 4 in the preceding year.
According
to her, N411,840 billion is for statutory transfers as against N399.69 provided
for last year, N943 billion for debt servicing and N2,616, trillion for
recurrent exenditure.
The
balance of N387,112 is for contribution to the development fund for capital
expenditure which gulped N1,100 trillion last year.
The
House Leader explained that "the focus of the budget in 2015 is continuous
job creation through infrastructure development, particularly in the areas of
power, roads, agriculture, Youth Empowerment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP),
housing and construction, creative industry, SURE-P."
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