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FG Publishes Buhari’s 2016 Budget And It’s Different From The One You’ve Seen [DOWNLOAD]

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The Federal Government has finally published a copy of the 2016 Appropriation Budget on the Budget Office website on Thursday, January 14, 2015. You may download it HERE or from The Trent HERE

An earlier version of the Budget was circulated by Budgetit.ng a social media based accountability and transparency NGO. The organisation claimed it obtained the budget from the Budget Office. You may view the entire document HERE.

There are some differences between the version published earlier and this new one uploaded on the Budget Office website today.

Just this week, news of the disappearance of the 2016 Budget from the National Assembly emerged as Senate Leader, Ali Ndume announced that the budget was “stolen” from legislative building in a closed-door session with some Senators.

A legislative source, however, disclosed to The Trent that President Muhammadu Buhari never submitted a budget to the National Assembly. According to the source, the budget presentation of December 22, 2015, was a “mere ceremony” with intent to deceive Nigerians and cast Buhari’s government as efficient.

Below is an analysis on the two documents by political blog, The Scoop.

When civic advocacy group, BudgIT, first published a version of the budget in its possession, it showed some scandalous expenses in the budget, especially the allocation proposed for the presidency. Some administration officials stated that the version before the public was not accurate and asked Nigerians to wait for the document to be released from official quarters before jumping into conclusions. So now that the official document has been released, are there differences between the version circulated earlier and the new one? Answer is YES, there were a few. One of the most significant is the N17bn allocated for the 2nd Niger Bridge, whereas the bridge previously had no allocation. Interestingly, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which was allocated N66bn in earlier version now reads N50bn. Do the Maths and know where the N16bn was moved to.

We are still looking at the document but we decided to go back to the editorial by The Nation newspaper on January 5, 2016, which criticised the budget as a result of its “astonishing similarities with the immediate past, prompting questions about the meaning of change.” We decided to look at the items which the newspaper criticised in its editorial to see if there was a difference between the earlier version and the official version of the budget.

  1. The newspaper lamented the “flawed prioritisation” of the FG in wanting to acquire a fleet of new high-end luxury cars for the Presidency at the cost of N3.6bn. During his media chat, the president said he will review that expenditure. In the official document released, the amount budgeted for BMW saloon cars and jeeps is N340m.
  2. Purchase of tyres for MERCEDES BENZ BULLET PROOF /PLAIN, TOYOTA CARS, CCU, PLATFORMS,TRUCKS, LAND CRUISER JEEPS, PRADO JEEPS, HILUX, PEUGEOT 607, PEUGEOT 406, BMW TRUCKS, AMBULANCES, UTILITY, OPERATIONAL VEHICLES ETC was N189.1m in the earlier version, and is same in the official document.
  3. N39.8m was budgeted for the purchase of an unspecified number of 200 amps, 100 amps and 60 amps Mercedes Benz batteries for bulletproof vehicles. That figure also remains unchanged.
  4. N30m was budgeted for purchase of tool boxes, car jacks, and diagnostic machines for the Presidency’s bulletproof cars. That also remains unchanged.
  5. Also unchanged is the N27m budgeted for purchase of C-Caution triangles, fire-extinguishers and cables.
  6. On Buhari’s budget for his local and international trips, here is what the paper said, “As against the 2015 N24.4b allocation, which was used by Buhari and his predecessor, the Presidency voted N39b for local and international travels and transportation in the 2016 budget. This suggests more foreign travels by Buhari when he is expected to fly less and stay on the ground to address the country’s failure to realise its potential.” In the official document released today, this figure has been reduced to N1.42bn,comprising of N714.5m for local travel and transport and N701.2m for international travel and transport.
  7. N362m was the figure supposedly allocated for Wildlife Conservation in earlier version, but in official version, the figure is N115.8m. Last year however, the figure allocated for this was N24.6m.
  8. The allocation for acquisition of presidential canteen materials and kitchen equipment in the two versions is unchanged at N89m.
  9. Allocation for supply of foodstuff and catering services in the Vice President’s office is also unchanged at N16.6m.
  10. The Nation described the N387m allocated for the general renovation of the Guest House as “puzzling”. That figure remains unchanged. Also unchanged is the N45m for complete furnishing of the Guest House.
  11. Purchase of computers in the two versions is N27.5m
  12. When The Nation newspaper saw the N764m allocated for construction and provision of recreational facilities, it asked, “What are the recreational facilities missing at the Presidency?”. Well, that figure is drastically different in the official version: N12m.
  13. “Here and there in the budget are suspect figures that signal not only the possibility of inflation, but also the possibility of wastefulness,” said The Nation in its editorial. And then it pointed to the N111.4m to be expended on the upgrade of internet infrastructure in the State House. That remains unchanged.
  14. The N22.5m in earlier version for purchasing internet servers is also unchanged.
  15. The N100m for “Active Devices for State House Network” is unchanged.
  16. The N35m for the purchase of security appliances and licenses, including computer anti-virus software is also unchanged.

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