FG Adjusts 2020 Budget to N10.52trn, Benchmarks Oil at $25
***Approves N47.2bn to Boost Electricity Supply
The Federal Government has adjusted the 2020 budget downward from the original N10.59 trillion to N10.52 trillion. The budget deficit is in excess of N5.3tn.
The approval was made in Abuja on Wednesday at the Federal Executive Council , FEC, meeting presided over by President,Muhammadu Buhari.
The new figures were captured in the revised 2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework submitted to the council by the Minister of Finance, Budget, National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.
Parameters adjusted in the budget include the crude oil benchmark now further cut to $25 from $30. Recall that the original benchmark was $57, but the government, in the wake of the COVID-19, had opted for $30 as crude oil prices cashed.
But FEC took another $5 out of the benchmark on Wednesday in the latest cut to settle at $25.
Ahmed, who spoke with State House correspondents after the meeting, said daily crude oil production was now 1.94 million barrels per day, while the naira-dollar exchange rate was put at N360/$1. She stated, “The revised budget is now in the total sum of N10.52 trillion, a difference of just about N71.5 million when compared to the approved budget.
Meanwhile FEC has approved N47.2 billion to boost power supply in the country. This is meant to supply additional 40 megawatts of power to the national grid, according to the Minister of Power, Mr Sale Mamman.
He told State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, which was held via video conferencing, that the 40 megawatts would be moved from the Kashimbilla Dam in Taraba State.
The minister said “The council approved the ministry’s memo for the revised estimated total cost for the augmentation of the subsisting contract in the sum of N4,235,303,821.90, to provide additional 40 megawatts, currently being generated from Kashimbilla, via Takum, Wukari and Yandev, to the national grid.” He listed states in the North-East and Benue State as the beneficiaries of the 40MW when evacuated. Mamman added that the country could lose up to 120 gigawatts of power or $9m in a year if the energy was not evacuated from the dam.
The FEC also approved a separate N683 million for the Nigerian Ports Authority. The money is for the procurement of 19 operational vehicles.
