Controversy Trails 2015 Federal Budget

With the Appro
priation bill for 2015 passing its second reading at the senate, a growing consensus calling for a reduction in the N4.357 trillion budget proposed for the current fiscal year is gaining momentum.
The financial statement which details government projected spending for the year has N2.6 trillion earmarked for recurrent expenditure, N943 billion for debt servicing and the sum of N411 billion to be exhausted as statutory transfers.
The budget will largely be funded from oil and non oil proposed revenues marked at N3.56 trillion and N1.918 trillion respectively.
Domestic borrowing will take a crucial cut of N1.9 billion at N570 billion down from N571.9 billion expected growth rate of (GDP) will slide to an average of 5.5 per cent which is 1.1 per cent less than last year’s forecast and 0.9 percent lower than the global growth outlook.
According to the Director General of the Budget office of the Federation, Mr Bright Okogu, the budget is premised on a gradually recovering global economy.
He said the new austerity measures, contribution to SURE-P Scheme will take a hit dropping by more than 50 per cent to N102.5bn.