President Muhammadu Buhari orders reduction in 2016 Budget expenditure

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered the National Planning Commission (NPC) to go back to the drawing board and produce the framework for a 2016 national budget that will reduce recurrent expenditure and prioritize developmental projects.

He gave the order after receiving a briefing from the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Bassey Akpanyung, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The President, according to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, told Dr. Akpanyung and Directors of the NPC that capital projects must now be given the fullest possible priority because Nigeria cannot achieve real development without adequate investment in capital and infrastructural projects.

 “In carrying out its role in surveillance of the economy, review and appraisal of policies, the Commission should devise a plan for a realignment of the budget so that capital projects can be really prioritized,” the President directed the NPC. 

The Executive Secretary of the NPC had informed the President that Nigeria’s planning system was beset by many challenges. These challenges, he said, included the non-alignment of national plans with the annual budget and inadequate capacity in the departments of Planning, Research and Statistics in the various government ministries.