Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala
Ndubuisi Francis
The Federal Ministry of Finance has a budgetary proposal of N14,759,952,111, representing 0.30 per cent of the total budget.
The estimate is for the ministry and its five agencies, including the Debt Management Office (DMO), Budget Office of the Federation (BOF), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Investment and Securities Tribunal and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
Of the total budgetary proposal, the ministry proper is to spend N5,599,576,180, representing 0.11 per cent of the entire budget estimates.
The ministry, in a statement last night said since the presentation of the 2013 budget proposal to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan, it had received a lot of positive feedback from Nigerians in different parts of the country.
“In particular, the fact that the budget presentation took place in October, the earliest in recent memory, was highly commended by many Nigerians who have reached out to us. Many other aspects of the budget also received commendation,” the statement said, listing them as the focus on power supply, roads, rail and aviation safety, among others.
“We welcome this dialogue on the budget because we believe that transparency is a key ingredient of an effective budget process. The budget is for the Nigerian people and they have a fundamental right to have their say on it.
“It is in this spirit that we take some comments on some aspects of the budget of the Federal Ministry of Finance even when the motives of some of those making the comments may not be positive. The aspects which have attracted comments include provisions made for personnel, overheads, capital expenditure, sitting allowances, refreshments, travels and training,” the statement issued by Paul Nwabuikwu, Senior Special Assistant to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said.
Giving further insighjt into the ministry’s budgetary proposal, the statement added that “the provisions made for personnel, overheads, sitting allowances and travels, training and so on are modest and justifiable.”
“It is important to keep in mind that the ministry pays for a lot of studies and investigations done for other parts of government in various areas of economic reform, including pensions, public service reforms, housing and mortgage etc. It also hosts experts from within and outside the country in technical sessions and meetings in line with its mandate.
“The proposed annual budget for cleaning and fumigating the premises of the ministry– N43,381,673 – is certainly within the parameters of industry standards. Additionally, it is also important to keep in mind that the ministry is facing serious structural and environment challenges which have made these services very necessary.
“The ministry under the leadership of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is very conscious of its key role and will continue to lead by example in areas under its mandate. The focus as always is on managing the finances of the country in a manner that protects and enhances the interests of the country,” the statement noted.