By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
THE Federal Government may have concluded plan to phase out multiple budget fiscal operations if the disclosures of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, is the current reality.
The multiple budgetary fiscal operations entail implementation of more than one Appropriation Acts simultaneously and in the case of present regime, about three Appropriation Acts are running concurrently, attracting significant public debate.
While the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, has apparently endorsed this situation, Edun, yesterday at the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, said there won’t be more budget extensions going forward.
Tanimu, defending the practice in the face of huge public criticism, explained that it is not a “fiscal anomaly” but a “transitional budget system” and an “institutional flexibility” that is legally backed by current fiscal laws to ensure the completion of capital projects.
But speaking at the evening plenary on “The Reform Imperative: Building a Prosperous and Inclusive Nigeria By 2030” at the Summit stated: “No more extensions of Budget into the next year which has created so much confusion in the system. We have talked to NASS (National Assembly) and we have agreed to restore normalcy in that space.”
The minister also gave an insight into federal government borrowing going forward.
According to him, the government would make a greater use of Sukuk, Green Bonds and Diaspora Bonds instead of Eurobonds.
Edun also disclosed that there is now greater transparency in the Federation Account adding that it took until August this year for FG to have visibility of its accounts with CBN.
According to him, the federal government has implemented a federal billing system, that enables it to track exact payments for goods and services.
His words: “We are determined to bring all Federal Government funds into visibility. There is a lot of FG’s money lying outside of CBN.”
Edun also said the fight against inflation started with the fiscal authorities adding that the Federal government would prioritise its spending, focusing on productivity-enhancing sectors.
He explained that the two reforms of exchange rate unification and fuel subsidy removal has freed five per cent of GDP into Federation Account distribution to the three tiers of government.
As a result, the minister said Federation funds allocation to states have increased by about 111 percent and that states are now “awash with cash.”
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