President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said N221.7 billion would be
spent on health sector in 2016 as part of the initiative to improve the
health care delivery to Nigerians. Buhari said this while presenting the
2016 budget to the joint National Assembly session in Abuja. He said
that N369.6 billion was set aside for education sector as against N294.5
billion earmarked for defence, while the Ministry of Interior would
receive N145.3 billion.
The president said the money allocated to the three critical sectors
would facilitate payment of personnel remunerations in the critical
sectors. He said that 2016 borrowings would principally be directed to
fund capital projects as N113 billion would be set aside as a sinking
fund towards the retirement of matured loans.
Buhari said N1.36 trillion had been provided for foreign and domestic
debt servicing, and emphasised the need for prudent management of debt
portfolio and deployment of foreign exchange earnings. According to him,
the 2016 budget represents a major step in delivering a new opportunity
for Nigeria.
He said it also demonstrated government’s confident optimism
that in spite of the nation’s current challenges, it had the will,
resourcefulness and commitment to deliver prosperity to the people. “
This budget will ensure that every kobo spent by government counts; we
will devote a significant portion of our current expenditure to
institutions that provide government services.
“Government needs to move away from dependency on oil. “Our growth
must be inclusive; indeed tough decisions will have to be made but this
does not necessarily mean increasing the level of pain already being
experienced by most Nigerians. “Nigeria is open for business but the
interest of all Nigerians must be protected first. “Nigerians must be
part of the growth story. Our government shall deliver on security, jobs
and infrastructure; it is the right of all Nigerians.
“By the grace of almighty God and the will and determination of the
Nigerian people, we will come out stronger and more united than ever,”
he said. The president said he was aware of the problem many Nigerians
faced in terms of accessing foreign exchange for their various
purposes. He attributed the problem to the current inadequacies in the
supply of foreign exchange to Nigerians who needed it.
He said, however, that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, had assured that the bank was currently fine
tuning its current foreign exchange management. He said that this would
introduce some flexibility and encourage additional inflow of foreign
currency to help ease the pressure.
Buhari said that the exchange rate regime was also currently being
assessed, keeping in mind the willingness to attract foreign investors,
manage and control inflation so as not to harm Nigerians. He called on
traders, business operators, manufacturers, airline operators and others
who needed foreign exchange to meet their obligations to be patient as
the government was aware of the problem.
“To the investors, business owners and industrialists, we are aware
of your pains; to the farmers, traders and entrepreneurs we also hear
you; the status quo cannot continue, the artificial concurrent demand
will end.
“I know many people will say we have heard this but we must go back
to the basics; our actions will speak for us. “My team of dedicated,
committed and patriotic Nigerians is well aware of the task ahead and we
assure you that we are taking on the challenge; we will not betray the
trust put on us. “We are here to serve and indeed Nigerians will get the
service they have longed for and which they rightly deserve,” the
president said.
Buhari called on all civil servants, the organised labour, industry
groups, newsmen, religious and traditional institutions to support the
Federal Government in achieving its mandate. The president presented a
2016 national budget of N6.08 trillion to the joint national assembly
session for approval.
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