The Senate, Wednesday passed the N6.08 trillion budget for 2016, with an unprecedented reduction in the budget’s total.
Members of the red chamber passed N6, 060,677,358,227 trillion budget after considering its committee report on the budget.
The total budget was however reduced from N6.07trn to N6.06trn: N351bn for statutory transfers, N1.4trn for debt service, N2.6trn for recurrent expenditure, and N1.5trn as capital expenditure.
According to the chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator John Enoh, “This will be the first time since 1999 that the National Assembly would approve a figure lower than proposed by the executive.”
Enoh said that reflected the “mood of the country and the world” and showed “discipline” of the part of the National Assembly.
The Senate urged the Federal Government to submit the budget subsequently in strict compliance with the Fiscal Policy Act.
They also advised that there should be proper consultation between the budget office and the ministries, departments and agencies in order to avoid the mishaps of the past months .
The Federal Government was also advised to diversify its revenue base, and to shore up capital expenditure and reduce recurrent expenditure.
The N6.08 trillion budget was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly in December 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
