Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday presented a budget of N13 trillion to the joint arm of the National Assembly for approval for the 2021 fiscal year.
In the budget tagged: “Budget of economic recovery and resilience,” Buhari said the main thrust of the 2021 budget was to complete as many ongoing projects as possible, while giving priority to the ones that most affected the people.
He said the 2021 budget would drive the MDAs to generate revenue, no matter how little, while urging the Legislature to pay attention to the revenue as much as they did to the expenditure.
According to him, the 2021 budget was the roadmap for post-coronavirus economy and was aimed at accelerating the economic recovery process.
Buhari said Crude oil is projected at $40bpd, exchange rate at N379 to $1, GDP at three percent and inflation rate at 11.95 per cent.
He said he had directed the Minister of Finance to finalise the Finance Bill and transmit for consideration and passage.
In the budget, the National Assembly got N128 billion, while N380.21b has been allocated to the health ministry.
Buhari said Multiple Rural Electrification Projects, Mambilla Hydro Power Project, Zungeru Hydro Power Project, among others, were key power projects under the 2021 Budget.
He stated that N420 billion had been earmarked for the Social Investment Programmes, while N20 billion had been earmarked for the Social Housing Programmes.