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Nigeria: Dispute over gov’t spending delays Goodluck Jonathan budget
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. PHOTO/File
(Reuters) – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will not present the 2014 budget to the federal national assembly as planned on Tuesday because of a disagreement between his team and lawmakers over plans to curb spending.
A letter from Jonathan read out in the assembly by Senate president David Mark said: “It is infeasible for me to present the budget in the absence of a harmonized position,” with executive, upper and lower house all disagreeing on spending.
He gave no new date, saying only that when lawmakers had agreed a position, then he would deliver the budget.
Federal lawmakers have indicated they wish to raise spending in the budget for next year, ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in 2015, but the houses disagree on by how much.
Nigeria’s federal finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala proposed curbing spending in a 2014 budget framework paper after the government spent almost US$6 billion of oil savings this year to cover budget revenue shortfalls. Oil makes up 80 percent of revenues.
Economists however had said she would struggle to get the budget passed in parliament.
A separate source in the national assembly said on Tuesday that lawmakers were unhappy with low capital expenditure, which they wanted to see increased to boost Africa’s second-largest economy. He added that lawmakers were tired of hearing about the need for fiscal prudence when the government was so behind in implementing the 2013 budget.
