Outline
- Background & Context
- Summary of 2018 Budget Performance
- Global Outlook: Recent Developments & Prospects
- Background to the 2019 Budget
- Underlying Assumptions driving the Macroeconomic Parameters and Targets for the 2019 Budget Proposal
- Approach to the 2019 Budget
- Overview of the 2019 Budget Proposal
- Selected Capital Projects in the 2019 Budget Proposal
- Conclusion
Background & Context
The Nigerian economy emerged from recession in Q2 2017, and the macroeconomic environment has stabilized and is recovering gradually. This has renewed confidence in the country’s growth prospects.
The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which underpins government’s economic recovery actions, is the basis for medium term fiscal strategy to achieve sustained economic growth, diversification and social inclusion.
Some of the underlying assumptions and targets in the ERGP have been updated to reflect current realities
Summary of 2018 Budget Performance
As at the end of the third quarter, Federal Government’s actual aggregate revenue was N2.84 trillion, which is 40 percent higher than 2017 revenue. This includes:
- Oil Revenue of N1.51 trillion (101 percent higher than 2017);
- Company Income Tax (CIT) of N500.37 billion (23 percent higher than 2017);
- Value-Added Tax (VAT) of N100.37 billion (5 percent higher than 2017); and
- Customs Collections of N229.62 billion (11 percent higher than 2017).
The overall revenue performance is only 53 percent of the target in the 2018 Budget largely because some one-off items such as the N710 billion from Oil Joint Venture Asset restructuring are yet to be actualized and have been rolled over to 2019.
Of the total appropriation of N9.12 trillion, N4.59 trillion had been spent by 30th September, 2018 against the prorated expenditure target of N6.84 trillion. This represents 67% performance.
Debt service and the implementation of non-debt recurrent expenditure, notably payment of workers’ salaries and pensions are on track.
2018 Capital Expenditures
Capital releases only commenced after the signing of the 2018 Budget on 20th June, 2018. As at 14th December 2018, a total of N820.57 billion had been released for capital projects.
Spending on capital has been prioritised in favour of critical ongoing infrastructural projects in the power, roads, rail and agriculture sectors.
Implementation of the 2018 Capital Budget will continue into 2019 until the 2019 Budget is passed into law.
Key Initiatives to improve FGN Revenues
The Federal Government has also sustained its efforts to improve public financial management through the comprehensive implementation of:
- The Treasury Single Account (TSA),
- The Government Integrated Financial Management Information
- System (GIFMIS); an
- The Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
President has directed that immediate action be commenced to restructure the Joint Venture Oil Assets so as to reduce government shareholding to 40 percent and that this exercise must be completed within the 2019 fiscal year.
The Department of Petroleum Resource shall, within three months, complete the collection of past-due oil license and royalty charges.
Following Mr. President’s directive:
- The Ministry of Finance, working with all the relevant authorities, has been authorized to take action to liquidate all recovered, unencumbered assets; within 6 months.
- Given the improved oil prices and production levels, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is to immediately commence the recovery of all outstanding obligations, including those due from Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) (a subsidiary of NNPC), which it had agreed to pay since 2017.
Finally, amongst other revenue generating initiatives, Mr. President has directed that work should be immediately concluded on the deployment of the National Trade Window and other technologies to enhance Customs collections efficiency from the current 64 percent to up to 90 percent over the next few years.
