Obasanjo, Jonathan, Others Take Home From 2019 Budget Pegged At N2.3bn

Former Nigerian leaders including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and their chiefs of staff are set to receive N2.3 billion as benefits in 2019.

The Punch reports that this is contained in the 2019 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly.

The budget also contains a proposed sum of N4.5 billion for retired Heads of Service and permanent secretaries.

Former heads of government agencies and parastatals are also expected to receive N1bn as severance benefits.

The federal government also proposed “N3bn for outsourced services and N5bn for ‘margin for increased in costs.”

The budget also provided N65 billion for re-integration of transformed ex-militants while contingency got N15.8 billion.

The counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, Operation Lafiya Dole and other military operations were expected to take N75 billion.

The Federal Government allocated N20bn for university revitalization and another N20bn for additional support to universities.

The sum of N160bn was voted for public service wage adjustment for ministries, departments and agencies including arrears of promotion and salary increases and severance benefits.

Another N22.7bn was allocated for outstanding terminal benefits of retired Nigeria Airways workers.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps proposed N514.6m for the construction of public schools and N170.4m for construction of stations/ barracks.

The Nigeria Police Force voted N103m for land acquisition and N4.9bn for police stations/ barracks construction.

Meanwhile, emerging reports have claimed that the federal government has budgeted a total of N160 billion this year, 2019 to take care of adjustments that might come up as a result of the planned increase in minimum wage.

The Punch reports that the amount is contained in the 2019 budget proposal which was submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, BigPen Online report sourced from Legit.ng says the 2019 budget has an estimate of N8.83tn made up of N4.04tn for recurrent expenditure, N2.03tn for capital expenditure and N2.14tn for debt servicing, among others.

It was learnt that an analysis of the budget showed that the sum of N160bn had been provisioned to take care of public wage adjustment and salary increases in the ministries, departments and agencies of the government.

The minister of budget and national planning, Senator Udo Udoma, said the government was committed to increasing the minimum wage.