24/11/2009

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua has submitted the 4.0 79 trillion naira 2010 budget bill to the National Assembly (parliament), after a supremacy fight between the two cham bers of the bicameral legislature prevented him from formally presenting the budget to a joint session of the assembly last week (US$1=150 Naira).

According to some details of the budget, contained in a presidential statement o btained by PANA here Tuesday, the budget comprises 180.28 billion Naira for Statutory Transfers, 517.07 billion Naira for Debt Serv ice, 2.011 trillion Naira for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure and 1.370 trillion Naira for Capital Expenditure.

This represents a 31.5% increase over the 3.102 trillion Naira appropriated for 2009.

The 2010 Budget is predicated on an oil production of 2.088 million barrels per day; Benchmark oil price of US$57/barrel; Joint Venture cash calls of US$5billion; average exchange rate of 150 Naira to the US dollar; Targe t GDP growth rate of 6.1%; and Target inflation rate of 11.2%.

''The 2010 Budget is the principal policy instrument to transform our solemn pro mises to the Nigerian people embedded in this Administration??s Seven-Point Agenda and Nigeria Vision 20:2020 into tangible and enduring realiti es,'' President Yar'Adua said.

''We remain committed to transforming the socio-economic fortunes of our people by implementing a strategic plan for stimulating economic growth and launching the nation onto a trajectory of sustained development that will propel Nigeria to the top twenty economies in the world by the year 2020,'' he added.

He said the purpose of the 2010 Budget was to accelerate economic recovery ''thr ough targeted fiscal interventions intended to further stimulate the economy and support private sector growth''

''Accordingly, the 2010 Budget provides about 90% of MDAs?? (Ministries, Depar tments and Agencies) capital expenditure to 5 key priority sectors, namely Critical Infrastructure; Human Capital Development; Land Reform and Food Security; Physical Security, Law and Order; and the Niger Delta,'' the President said.

A disagreement between the Senate and the House of Representatives, over which v enue to be used for their joint sitting, scuttled the President's plan to present the budget last week.

It was the first time since Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999 that the President has not been able to present the annual budget bill to the National Assembly.