2020 budget: Works, Power, get highest allocation

The Ministry of Works and Housing on Tuesday got the highest projected allocation of N262 billion from the N10. 33 trillion budget estimates.

This was contained in the proposal as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

He said that the projected allocation of Ministry of Power was N127 billion and that of Transportation was N123 billion.

“Other of the key capital spending allocations in the 2020 Budget include Universal Basic Education Commission; N112 billion, Defence; N100 billion.

“Zonal Intervention Projects; N100 billion, Agriculture and Rural Development; N83 billion, Water Resources; N82 billion, Niger Delta Development Commission; N81 billion.

“Education; N48 billion, Health; N46 billion, Industry, Trade and Investment; N40 billion, North East Development Commission; N38 billion, Interior; N35 billion, Social Investment Programmes; N30 billion.

“Federal Capital Territory; N28 billion and Niger Delta Affairs Ministry; N24 billion.”

President Buhari in the budget proposals anchored all the estimates and projections on parameters earlier proposed and approved by the National Assembly as contained in the 2020 to 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Frame work (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

“Distinguished and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, the 2020 to 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) set out the parameters for the 2020 Budget.

”We have adopted a conservative oil price benchmark of 57 dollars per barrel, daily oil production estimate of 2.18 mbpd and an exchange rate of N305 per U.S. dollars for 2020.

“We expect enhanced real GDP growth of 2.93 per cent in 2020, driven largely by non-oil output, as economic diversification accelerates, and the enabling business environment improves. However, inflation is expected to remain slightly above single digits in 2020”, he said.