Military received N130bn in three months, says Okonjo-Iweala

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has denied claims by the Nigerian military and other security agencies that poor funding was undermining ongoing war against terrorists.

She said that the Federal Government has been providing the needed funds to prosecute the war. She said, for example, that the military has received N130.7 billion from the Federal Government between January and April, 2014 while another N3.8 billion had been approved by President Goodluck Jonathan but was still being processed and would soon be released to the military.

Okonjo-Iweala made this declaration while briefing journalists on the breakdown of the N4.964 trillion 2014 budget signed by the President on Wednesday but handed over to her in Abuja yesterday.

According to Okonjo-Iweala, “defence spending is top in everything. You know that military establishments need new things to assist them in their work, and ours will not be different. No budget will be enough to meet their demands but for now, I think the sector takes almost a trillion of the budget.”

She stated that defence budget in 2014 is “about N968.127 billion and we have disbursed N130.7 billion between January and April 2014, N85.9billion out of what has been disbursed is for personnel cost.

Oknojo-Iweala said the military is in charge of its personnel salaries “because they are yet to be integrated into the IPPIS.

On the late passage and signing of the 2014 budget, the finance minister said the delay would not affect the running of the economy as the existing laws give the executive power to spend up to 50 per cent of the annual budget pending its passage and signing.

According to Okonjo-Iwela, “that is exactly what we have done and we have disbursed N200 billion for the first quarter of the 2014, based on what the law allows us to do. So the effect of the delay may be relatively minimal.” She also stated that N571 billion would be borrowed to bridge the gap (fiscal deficit), adding that the one per cent deficit gap, when analysed within the context of the Fiscal Responsibilty Act (FRA) provisions, which allowed for three per cent, and global best practices is reasonable.

The finance minister further disclosed that “from June 2014, the Federal Government will advertise for the people that will benefit in the initial 10,000 housing scheme, to give the young ones hope to live.”

Sshe added that agriculture, aviation and solid mineral sectors would get support in the form of duties to buy equipment to support the sectors. The duties, she said, would be incentives at zero per cent.