President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presented the 2019 budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly, NASS.
Buhari was accompanied to the National Assembly by Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo and members of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on
Wednesday.
Loud ovation and encomiums heralded Buhari’s arrival to the joint session with shouts of “Sai Baba’’ as he waved to the crowd.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara jointly presided over the joint session,
with Saraki introducing the ceremony
Saraki’s full speech is as below:
”Mr. President, on behalf of my colleagues, Distinguished Senators of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Honourable Members of the House of
Representatives, I welcome you and members of your Executive team to the
fourth joint session of the National Assembly on the presentation of
the Budget proposals.
” I commend Mr. President and the Economic Management Team for
putting together this all-important fiscal policy document, which is
expected to give life to economic and social programmes that are pivotal
to our national development as we go into a crucial year in our
national life.
” Without doubt, the last three-and-a-half years have been eventful
ones at the global level and in our domestic economy. From dips in oil
prices to major shifts in the economic landscape, crude oil production
shut-ins and security challenges, the economy and Nigerians have been
directly impacted by these events. Many businesses closed down and many
people lost their jobs during the recent recession. In the same period,
we lost innocent citizens to insurgency in parts of the North East,
thousands were displaced, and many lives also lost due to clashes
between farmers and herders, in addition to the general hardship
unleashed by unstable economic winds.
”These are some of the security challenges we have faced. We must
take them head-on; it is a battle we must win as a country. It must be
admitted that we are not there presently. For one, these security
challenges now pose a threat to the viability of the agricultural
sector. This is clear in the marked reduction in agricultural output
observable since the first quarter of 2018. There is the need for more
efforts by all. We here are prepared to give all necessary support to
the Executive. We stand ready and committed to assist in every way we
can, in order to ensure food security and the protection of lives and
property.
”The recovery from the recession is still fragile. The fundamentals
underlying the recovery remain weak, and if unchecked, can lead to dire
consequences. The economy still runs on oil and very little progress has
been made in terms of diversification. As a result, the expansionary
budget policy in effect since 2016, which was aimed at raising spending
and stimulating growth in the economy, was not matched by achievable
revenue targets. The corollary is higher and rising deficit as well asa
considerable debt burden, all due to an unsustainable fiscal stance.
” The under-performance of independent revenues is straining
government’s ability to meet its expenditure, especially investments in
critical infrastructure. This further exposes government to higher
deficit levels which have been largely financed by borrowing.
”To be clear, two scenarios will play out if we do not deal
decisively with challenges to revenue. These would be to: i. accommodate
higher debt with higher repayment costs, which is not sustainable; ii.
reduce the capital budget, which would mean a slow-down in government
investment in critical infrastructure. This, again, does not aid growth
or economy development.
” Mr. President, it is for these reasons that the National Assembly
required that the 2018 Budget proposal and future ones be accompanied by
a Finance Bill, which would give credence to the financial proposals of
government. It is one way of establishing credibility in projected
revenues. It is imperative, therefore, that a 2019 Finance Bill is
submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.
” Mr. President, Distinguished colleagues and Honourable members of
the National Assembly, as you will be aware, I have always stressed the
importance of setting realistic revenue targets, because we cannot
afford to rely on borrowing to finance recurrent expenditure. It is
critical we shift focus to generating as much money as required for
spending, at least for recurrent needs, so loans can be used solely to
fund capital projects.
”. Another challenge we must address urgently is the huge cost
deductions by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Net
oil inflow into the Federation Account is significantly lower than
projected on account of these deductions by way of unappropriated
petroleum subsidy. I have on many occasions stressed that it might be
better to capture petroleum subsidy as a line item in the Budget if
government must continue to finance it.
” We cannot shy away from this issue. The current system is opaque at
best, fraught with inefficiencies and is a sure pathway to corruption.
Estimated deductions for petroleum subsidy claims by NNPC year-to-date
can neither be explained by the higher PMS landing cost nor the
increased supply of petroleum to the domestic market. We can better
manage these by returning to a more transparent practice of capturing
the items as against the erroneous and illegal approach of cost recovery
for payment for importation of petroleum products.
”I should also say that we will not get things right if we do not
match budget credibility with predictability. It is in this regard that
the National Assembly passed several constitution alteration bills
including Sections 82 and 122 of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. The amendments to these sections are intended to
engender timeliness in the formulation and approval of annual budgets as
well as restore the country to a January to December fiscal year.
”. May I use this opportunity to request Mr. President to prioritise
the assent of this important Bill. That way, delays in the submission
and passage of the Budget will be a thing of the past. Also, the private
sector, including local and foreign investors doing business in
Nigeria, can plan their investment activities along predictable
timelines.
”Mr. President will recall that in response to the economic
recession, the National Assembly enacted a batch of laws to assist the
Executive mobilise investment across the country, in order to stimulate
economic activities. These bills are the product of far reaching
engagements with the Executive. It is instructive to note that two of
these- the Secure Transactions in Movable Assets Bill and the Credit
Reporting Bill – are credited with helping to improve our country’s
position in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Ranking.
” Let me make clear that the National Assembly appreciates Your
Excellency’s assent of some of these bills. This is tempered by the fact
that some in this stack of priority bills, such as the Petroleum
Industry Governance Bill, National Transport Commission Bill and Federal
Road Authority Bill, to mention a few, have not been signed into law,
contrary to the expectations of many. We recognize the prerogative of
the president to sign or not to sign these bills. However, we believe
that some of the issues cited for withholding of assent may be better
addressed through further technical engagements, since the bills are, in
the main, aligned to government policy direction.
” Certainly, we as the legislature are of the view that, unless we
strengthen our laws to create the right structures that enable the
private sector power the economy, we will not be able to create enough
jobs and opportunity for our people to thrive and prosper. Through
collaborative efforts and engagements with all stakeholders, we have
passed bills designed to help government create jobs, open the entire
market to private sector investment and modernise the economy.
”17. Let me use this opportunity to also commend Your Excellency on
the Social Investment Programme initiative of your Administration.
However, as laudable as this initiative has been, it is pertinent to
note that the current approach is unlikely to have a sustainable,
measurable impact that is free of corruption and abuse. You will agree
with me that such a programme should carry no whiff of politicisation.
Our role as leaders must always be to ensure that we deliver governance
results that do not discriminate; and which ensure that all Nigerians
irrespective of ethnicity, religion and political stripe have access and
are seen to be treated equally.
”The National Assembly is willing and ready to work with Your
Excellency on the people-oriented programmes of your Administration, to
ensure success.
” At this juncture, let me assure Mr. President that the National
Assembly shall continue to work with your team to ensure that whatever
is required through legislation and oversight to plug revenue leakages
and ramp up revenues is given priority.
”With these remarks, I hereby invite Your Excellency to address this
joint session and lay the 2019 Budget proposal for the consideration of
the National Assembly in accordance with Section 81 of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Thank you
for your attention.