From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
The Federal Government has expressed it’s willingness to fund this year’s budget with proceeds from the non-oil sector of the economy.
“As we all know , these are tough times for Nigeria. It is challenging times but this can also be an opportunity to move away from dependence on oil.
I believe we can get there, we must look at internally generated revenue and this is what we have started doing. The 2016 budget is in fact not funded with crude oil receipt. Said Udoma Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning in his remark during the visit of members of the Senate Committee on Planning to his office.
He said in de-emphasising proceeds from oil, the present government only set a target of N820 billion as revenue from the oil sector while it hopes to rake in N1.45 trillion from the non-oil sector and N1.51 trillion expected as independent revenue from government agencies.
Udoma, who expressed Federal Government’s readiness to make a shift from the old ways of sourcing funds for government stated that ministers of various ministries have been mandated to look inward to generate funds through public-private partnership to fund some of their infrastructural projects.
Earlier in her address, Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning spoke on the Ministry’s plans to update Nigeria’s Vision 2020 agenda with a view to taking account of its development priorities.
She urged members of the committee to help with the quick passage of Bill on Development Planning and Project Continuity submitted to the National Assembly two years ago as well as the National Council on Management Development (NCMD) Amendment Act which has passed second reading.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Planning and former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, expressed the willingness of the Senate to collaborate with the ministry to fast track the passage of the necessary bills to enhance the growth of the Ministry.