Capital Expenditure by the Federal Government has recorded steady rise by 60 percent to N5.35 trillion in the 2022 proposed budget from the N2.14 trillion recorded in 2019.
But Vanguard findings from the budget office indicated that actual implementation has massively lagged showing about 36 percent shortfall from budgeted amounts.
Checks by Vanguard showed that in 2019 out of the N2.14 trillion budgeted for capital expenditure only N1.2 trillion, representing about 56 percent was released for capital projects during the year.
In the 2020 revised budget, N301 billion was added to the earlier Capital expenditure proposal which jerked it up to N2.488 trillion from N2.230 trillion.
However, only N1.74 trillion, or 69.93 per cent was released for capital projects as at end of the year.
In 2021, capital budget was N5.23 trillion, about 36 percent of the total expenditure, but as at August, only N1.759 trillion, representing 33. 65 percent had been released.
Aggregate capital expenditure of N5.35 trillion in 2021 was about 32.7% total expenditure. This provision was inclusive of capital component of statutory transfers, Government Owned-Enterprises, GOEs Capital and projected-tied loans expenditures.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had at the 2022 Budget breakdown briefing said that the federal government would spend N16.391 trillion in the 2022 fiscal year.
Recurrent expenditure (non-debt) is 18.5 percent higher than the N5.76 trillion in 2021 budget.
Vanguard News Nigeria