Teddy Oscar, Abuja
At last, the House of Representatives on
Thursday passed the 2014 Budget of N4.695 trillion, four months, after it was submitted by the executive to the National Assembly.
The Senate had on Wednesday passed a N4.695 trillion 2014 Appropriation Bill.
The budget, which is N53 billion higher than the N4.642 trillion estimates submitted by the executive, is made up of statutory transfers, N408.687 billion; debt servicing, N712 billion; recurrent expenditure,
N2.454 trillion, while capital expenditure is N1.119 trillion.
You would recall that President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday, December 19, 2013, through the coordinating minister of the economy and minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, submitted the 2014 Budget to the Green and Red chambers for consideration and passage.
In the proposal, submitted by the
executive, the recurrent expenditure was put at N2.4 trillion, while capital expenditure was N1.1 trillion.
The budget passed was based on an oil price benchmark of $77.5 per barrel and crude oil production of 2.3883 million
barrels per day.
It put the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate at 6.75 percent, inflation rate
at 9.5 percent and exchange rate at N160 to $1.
Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, commended the lawmakers for coming together to pass the budget.
According to him, the passage of the budget is for the common good of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, has described the passage of the 2014 Budget “as an act of patriotism by members of the House”.
Zakari, while speaking at a news
conference, said that the House would continue to look at other important issues when it resumes from its Easter break.
He said that contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the budget passed by the
House was implementable.
The House has adjourned plenary until April 29 for the Easter break.
