…Directs release of 50% fund for capital expenditure
With five months to the end of the 2020 fiscal year,President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the revised N10.8 trillion 2020 budget.
He has also directed that at least 50 per cent fund be released for the approved 2020 revised capital expenditure to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
It would recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on May 13, approved a revised budget of 10.523 trillion.
However, the two chambers of the National Assembly – the Senate and House of Representatives — increased the budget from the initial N10.5 trillion submitted by the President to N10.8 trillion.
The figure shows that the sum of N2,488,789,433,344 is for capital expenditure, while N4,942,269,241,984 is for recurrent non-debt expenditure.
Others are N2.6 trillion for debt service and N2.9 trillion for sinking funds.
After signing the budget on Friday at the Council Chamber of the State House, Buhari said that the budget had to be revised because of the effect of coronavirus on the nation’s economy.
According to him, MDAs will be given 50 per cent of their capital allocation by the end of the month.
It was reported that the event was witnessed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of State Finance, Clement Agba, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emiefile and Director General, Budget, Ben Akabueze were also at the event.
