The Moment (London)
Tony Otaru
14 December 2011
THE federal government yesterday reasons for its silence on the proposed removal of fuel subsidy while presenting the 2012 budget to the joint session of theNational Assembly.
The Head of the Presidential Economic Team and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,said the president’s silence was considered too loud by many Nigerians in the face of the festering crisis on the proposed fuel subsidy removal.
But Okonjo-Iweala, who was reacting to questions from the media at a brief budget breakdown ceremony in Abuja, said President Jonathan could not speak much on the matter because he was still consulting stakeholders involved.
The minister said, ‘President Jonathan is still dialoguing with relevant stakeholders on this matter; as I speak with you, he is talking with a group of youths, the traditional institutions, religious leaders, non-governmental organisations, the labour unions, political leaders, women groups as well as members of the national and state houses of assemblies and the governors.
I am quite sure that after all these consultations, the president will now take the bold step to inform the nation on the position of government.’
She said Nigerians should, however, be rest assured that ‘the president will surely take into account the masses when he finally takes his position.’
On why security was given a lion share of the budget instead of creating more jobs for the youths, the minister said security has become a priority if government is to create the needed friendly environment for attracting foreign investors into the economy.
She said, however, ‘Nigerians should not be carried away with the money voted for security in the 2012 budget.
People should also know that the money is meant for the whole of Defence Ministry, Police, office of the National Security Adviser, Ministry of Interior as well as other security agencies in the country.
It is not correct that the money is absolutely for their salaries and emoluments alone; we are talking of their training, equipment recruitments and so on.’
On the failure of government in the implementation of previous budgets, Okonjo-Iweala said the current economic team is working assiduously to make sure the budget is implemented to the letter.
She reassured Nigerians that government would monitor the implementation of the entire budget, stating that the 2012 budget was premised on $70 per barrel benchmark because of the non-stability of the oil market worldwide.
She stressed that though the present price of crude in the international market stands at $100 per barrel.
The minister, who spoke extensively on ways of bringing down the deficit in the budget, said the ongoing bio-metric data capturing exercise introduced by government was yielding positive results as Police Pension Funds which were hitherto attracting as much as N1.5trillion annually to settle, has now been reduced to as low as N55billion.
She stated that government has taken into account its domestic and foreign debt, which, she said, is to be gradually reversed.
‘In 2011, we borrowed N852billion, but in 2012, we shall be borrowing N792 billion, so you can see that we are making frantic efforts to bring down borrowing in all its ramifications,’ she said.
The minister explained that though the theme of the 2012 budget is ‘Fiscal Consolidation, Inclusive Growth and job Creation,’ it can also be christened the, ‘Action Budget,’ because it is focused on clearly defined and achievable targets designed to grow the economy and improve the welfare of Nigerians in a measurable way.’
She said, ‘This is a serious budget with a serious purpose which will be implemented with a serious approach. Nigerians are tired of talk and so are we; that’s why the budget is all about action in the areas that matter to Nigerians.’
Continuing, the minister said, ‘As we say in Nigeria, there is no ‘big grammar’ in the budget, we understand that the needs of Nigerians are serious and urgent and we are focused on making a difference in the area that will have the greatest impact on their lives in the short, medium and long run.’
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