Nigeria generates N2.305trn half-year revenue, to release second tranche of capital budget this week

Nigeria received a total of N2.305 trillion  ($7.53 billion) in total revenue as of June 2017, the budget office said on Tuesday. This is just as it plans to release the second tranche of the 2017 budget.

Ben Akabueze, director of the budget office, said the N2.305 trillion was 91 percent of the budgetary provision for the half-year ended June 2017.

The 91 percent performance of earnings expectations, according to analysts may have to  do with relative stable oil prices, which have hovered marginally above the budgetary benchmark price of the product, and improved output.

Nigerian government has also indicated that the second tranche of the N2.1 trillion capital expenditure of the 2017 budget would be released soon.

Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, Tuesday said the first release of N336 billion from the capital budget was made in August shortly after the government announced its preparedness to release N350 billion.

 She said the capital budget would be implemented despite the fiscal challenges confronting the nation in terms of the government’s commitment to infrastructural development and efforts to grow the economy.

“The 2017 budget was signed in June and we released N336 billion in August ”, she said, adding that the ministry is on course for the next set of releases .

“If you work from June, the first quarter of the budget is over. So it’s the next quarter that we are getting set for. There is really no problem at all about releases.

 “Even with the fiscal challenges we have, we are committed to infrastructure expenditure that will get the economy out of the recession and indeed on the path of growth and we will continue with that. ”

Businessamlive learnt that about N100 billion may be released this week for capital projects, taking its total spending in the 2017 budget for infrastructure to N440.9 billion Tuesday.

Kemi Adeosun also disclosed that government had spent N1.5 trillion on recurrent expenditure so far.

“We concluded our Sukuk last week, the money will be pushed out this week. As money comes in, we push it out,” Adeosun said.

Last week Nigeria sold a debut N100 billion in Sukuk in the local market to finance road projects.