Budgets: FG spends N32.24 trillion in 8 years

AMID controversies over poor implementation of the 2012 budget for which members of the House of Representatives have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to buckle up and ensure 100 per cent implementation or face impeachment proceedings as from September 18, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, Wednesday, approved a 2013 draft budget proposal of N4.929 trillion.
If approved, it means that by December 2013, the Federal Government would have spent N32.24 trillion within a period of eight years (see table) with little or no improvements on the well-being the citizenry.
Finance Minister and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the budget would be ready in September, while the actual laying before the National Assembly would be in the first week of October.
Giving insight of what to be expected in the 2013 budget, she said the Federal Government had reduced the recurrent expenditure component of the budget from 71.47 per cent of the 2012 budget to 68.66 per cent.
“We are increasing the capital expenditure from 28.53 per cent in 2012 to 31.34 per cent in 2013,” she added.

Without meaning to, Okonjo-Iweala showed why majority of Nigerians have been swimming in extreme poverty over the years despite the hefty budgets.
How? If only 28.53 per cent of the 2012 budget is allocated to capital expenditure (provision of infrastructure, amenities, etc), which has been miserly implemented with 71.47 per cent squandered on recurrent expenditure (salaries, emoluments of public servants and political office holders, running costs, etc), there is really no cause for cheer.

Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Over the years, the bulk of funds allocated to capital projects have been looted by political leaders and civil servants. And despite the efforts of the anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and related offences Commission (ICPC), graft is still upwelling and looted funds are hardly recovered leaving the citizenry to bear the brunt.
High, maternal, infant mortality rates
A United Nations report  titled: “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010,” which was released on May 16 showed that 14 percent of the world’s deaths related to childbearing are in Nigeria.
While maternal death rates around the world have almost halved over the past two decades, according to the UN report, Nigeria’s rate — 630 deaths for every 100,000  live births — is the world’s 10th highest, behind nine other sub-Saharan African countries led by Chad and Somalia.