The amount allocated for the Presidency in the 2023 Appropriation Act rose by N14.44bn, compared to the proposal delivered by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to the National Assembly in October 2022.
This is according to findings by Sunday PUNCH upon observation of changes made by the NASS to the 2023 executive budget proposal.
The amended fiscal framework for 2023, as approved by the NASS, showed additional allocations for personnel costs, overhead costs, and capital projects in the Presidency.
While personnel cost stood at N98.52bn in the proposed budget, that figure rose to N102.52bn in the approved budget; marking a N4bn difference.
Likewise, the overhead cost in the proposed budget was N17.49bn but rose by N8bn; amounting to N25.54bn.
Also, capital expenditure for the Presidency rose from N17.72bn in the proposal to N20.12bn in the approved budget signed by the President.
The Presidency encompasses the offices of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the National Security Adviser and the State House Administration.
Some of the agencies under it, as identified in the budget documents, are the State House Headquarters, the State House Operations (Office of the President), State House Operations (Office of the Vice President), Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Chief Security Officer to the President, State House Medical Centre and the State House Lagos Liaison Office.
Others are the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Bureau of Public Procurement, and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission and its centres nationwide, the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, and the National Council on Climate Change also draw their allocations from the Federation Account, under the Presidency.
In the eight years of the Buhari regime, budgetary allocations for these offices amounted to at least N720bn.
More so, allocations for these offices cumulatively rose by 116 per cent – from N68.48bn in 2015 to N148.17bn in 2023.
In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Federal Government earmarked N67.57bn, N42.92bn, N59.34bn, and N51.21bn, respectively, for the Presidency.
In 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, N58.77bn, N73.15bn, N150.59bn, and N148.17bn, respectively, were allocated for the Presidency.
On October 7, 2022, Buhari presented the 2023 appropriation bill to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja.
When it was approved three months later on January 3, 2023, the National Assembly increased the provisions made by ministries, departments, and agencies by N58.55bn.
Shortly after he signed the N21.83tn appropriation bill into law, Buhari said, “We have examined the changes made by the National Assembly to the 2023 executive budget proposal…I have also noted that the National Assembly introduced new projects into the 2023 budget proposal for which it has appropriated N770.72bn.
“The National Assembly also increased the provisions made by ministries, departments, and agencies by N58.55bn. Nevertheless, considering the imminent transition process to another democratically elected government, I decided to sign the 2023 appropriation bill into law as passed by the National Assembly to enable its implementation to commence without delay.”
However, Buhari directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to engage with the legislature to revisit some of the changes made to the executive budget proposal.
But in an interview with our correspondent, a professor of Development Macroeconomics at the University of Lagos, Prof Olufemi Saibu, said the allocations were a misplacement of priority.
“In terms of impact on the economy, I see it as a misplaced priority and misplaced judgment. Indeed, it is only when the economy is safe, we can all be secured. I think there needs to be a balance and a change of orientation about perceiving that at least those agencies are important.
“When you have a government which promotes self-interest, they place their security and welfare above that of others. Therefore, they find a way to sustain and protect themselves.
“That explains why you see the high allocations to some agencies of government because they are perceived to be more important and their security and comfort determine the safety and comfort of the whole economy. And that is the perception here – that ‘if the Presidency is okay, we’ll be able to manage the economy properly.’”
At the time of filing this report, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, could not be reached for comments.
