By Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja   Thursday, 9 Sep 2010

 

The Federal Government plans to spend N4.56tn in the 2011 fiscal year.

 

The plan is contained in the 2011 budget proposal, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council at its meeting on Wednesday.

 

However, the government was not definite on the crude oil benchmark for the planned budget, as it set it at a tentative figure of $58.

 

But it explained that the planned N4.56tn budget was in line with the Federal Government’s 2011-2013 Medium Term Fiscal Framework and Fiscal Strategy Pare.

 

President Goodluck Jonathan was absent from the four-hour meeting, which was chaired by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

 

The approval of the 2011 budget proposal followed FEC’s consideration of a memo brought to it by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga.

 

A cap on the expenditure of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government in the 2011 fiscal year was also approved at the meeting.

 

The Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, announced the FEC decisions, while addressing journalists in company with the Minister of State for Information and Communications, Mr. Labaran Maku, and Aganga.

 

Akunyili said, “After deliberation, Council approved the 2011-2013 MTFF and the key assumptions and targets underlying them; the 2011-2013 FSP of the Federal Government; the aggregate expenditure limit of N4.56tn proposed for 2011; major heads of expenditure, namely: statutory transfer of N175.78bn; the ceiling expenditure of MDAs for 2011; and the issuance of the 2011 Budget Call Circular to all MDAs.”

 

Explaining that the $58 per barrel “tentative” benchmark was not static, Aganga disclosed that in the three years under the MTFF, the Federal Government pegged the price of crude oil at conservative rates of $58, $60 and $62 per barrel, respectively.

 

Akunyili also announced that the FEC approved the enactment of an Act for the Establishment of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State.

 

The FUPRE was established on March 14, 2007 to produce unique high-level manpower and relevant expertise for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and worldwide.

 

Akunyili said, “The university has recorded some achievements in the areas of academic programmes, but currently lacks legal backing.

 

“The government envisaged that the establishment of the university would meet the yearnings of the immediate community.

 

“Because of the desire of the government to provide and further expand access to education at all levels, Council approved the draft bill for the enactment of an Act to establish FUPRE.”

 

Also on Wednesday, FEC approved the award of a contract for the implementation of the second phase of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Global Communication Network project. The N1.7bn project will interconnect the ministry’s new headquarters building in Abuja and 50 selected Nigerian missions abroad.

 

FEC had at its meeting of September 17, 2009, approved an abridged scope of work for the first phase of the project involving 16 missions for the sum of N930m.

Akunyili explained that the 16 missions had been completed.

 

The sum of N2bn was appropriated in the 2010 budget for the continuation of the GCN project.

 

She said, “In consideration of the sensitive nature of the GCN, also in order to attain Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives, Council approved the award of contract for the implementation of the second phase, involving the interconnection of additional 50 selected Nigerian missions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ headquarters in the sum of N1.76bn, in addition to a coordination fee of N176.4m; which will be completed in 12 months.”

 

Source: The Punch