There are fears by economic experts that the struggling Nigerian economy may have lost the steam expected of an economy just exiting recession even after President Muhammadu Buhari might have signed the 2018 budget.
This came against the background of indications that President Buhari will sign the N9.12 trillion document as presented to him by the National Assembly on Tuesday was given by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma while briefing journalists and members of civil society organisations on the 2018 budget on Thursday.
The development was confirmed by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in the United Kingdom, on Friday.
But a recent report by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the economy performed worse in the first quarter of the year than it did in the last quarter of 2017.
Analysts and experts are, therefore, worried that the culture of delayed budget and its attendant dangers will further hurt a struggling economy.
Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, who spoke with Sunday Tribune, said the delay was hurting the economy: “But why the delay,” he queried.
“If the president has objections to what was passed by the National Assembly, then he ought to have engaged the legislature to resolve because the delay is causing the economy a lot of money and is hurting the economy.”
Also, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on an occasion, had spoken on the effects the delayed budget would have on the economy.
To her, the delay would cause some adjustments in implementation, which would have some impact on the nation.
Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, warned that delay in the budgetary process would entrench the vicious cycle of poor budget implementation.
To him, “the risk is that recurrent spending will be fully implemented while capital projects suffer the usual implementation deficiency.”
Also speaking on the implications of delayed budget on the fragile economy, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Frank Udemba Jacobs said “delay in passage of the budget will have dire consequences on the economy.
He added: “Critical to the private sector is the expectation that the budget shows the direction the government aims to take for the year in terms of provision of incentives, infrastructure development needed for the smooth operation of businesses and procurement of goods and services,” adding that the delay would negatively affect the job creation capacity of government contractors.
“In fact, national budget provides the link between public sector activities and that of the private sector needed for the growth of the economy. Taking the budget expenditure angle for instance, through public procurement for government capital projects, particularly locally-made products, the entire sectors will be stimulated as liquidity expands.
For the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the development could drag the nation into a state of inertia. Speaking shortly after the recent Governing Council meeting in Lagos, NECA President Larry Ettah said “it appears to have become a tradition in this democratic dispensation for the budget to be unduly delayed, thereby plunging the economy into a state of inertia, particularly in the first quarter of the year.”
The president had in November 2017 sent an N8.6 trillion Appropriation Bill before a joint session of the National Assembly but it was passed six months later on May 16 and sent to Buhari on May 26.
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