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BY the end of December 31, 2013 the three tiers of government in Nigeria would have spent N80 trillion or more, going by federal and states’ budget appropriations and statutory allocations to the 774 local councils since January 2005, Vanguard’s investigations have revealed.
On the average, this means our 811 governments spend collectively N8.89 trillion a year, N740.74 billion a month, N24.35 billion a day and N1.01 billion an hour.
If 2013 is singled out, the expenditure will be higher. Apart from Osun State, which is yet to publish its 2013 budget estimates, the Federal Government, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the other 35 states, barring supplementary budgets, will spend N11.301 trillion this year.
Jonathan and Okonjo-Iweala
The N80 trillion excludes local councils’ internally-generated revenue, IGR, and some supplementary appropriations by state governments. In 2008, the councils got N1.05 trillion as statutory allocations from the Federation Account and about N1.2 trillion in 2009. In the eight years up to 2007, the third tier of government received N3.3trillion. Between 2010 and 2012, the councils got about N3.8 trillion as statutory allocations.
Of this princely sum, about N24 trillion or 30 per cent was spent on capital projects while N56 trillion or 70 per cent was squandered on recurrent expenditure.
Giving insight of what to be expected in the 2013 Federal budget recently, Finance Minister and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the Federal Government had reduced the recurrent expenditure component of the budget from 71.47 per cent of the 2012 budget to 68.66 per cent.
“We are increasing the capital expenditure from 28.53 per cent in 2012 to 31.34 per cent in 2013,” she added.
Without meaning to, Okonjo-Iweala showed why majority of Nigerians have been swimming in extreme poverty over the years despite hefty budgets.
How? If only 31.34 per cent of the 2013 budget is allocated to capital expenditure (provision of infrastructure, amenities, etc), which may be miserly implemented as usual with 68.66 per cent to be squandered on recurrent expenditure (salaries, emoluments of public servants and political office holders, running costs, etc), there is really no cause for cheer. Most states of the federation operate similar budgets.
The composition of the nation’s public servants is as follows: Federal executive, 472; federal lawmakers, 469; state executives, 2664; state lawmakers, 1,152; council executives, 3096; council lawmakers 8692; and federal/state judiciary, 934, totaling 17,474, a mere 0.011 per cent of Nigeria’s 160,000 million population.
Over the years, the bulk of funds allocated to capital projects have been looted by political leaders and civil servants. And despite the efforts of the anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and related offences Commission (ICPC), graft is still upwelling and looted funds are hardly recovered leaving the citizenry to bear the brunt.
High, maternal, infant mortality rates
A United Nations report titled: “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010,” which was released on May 16 showed that 14 percent of the world’s deaths related to childbearing occur in Nigeria.
While maternal death rates around the world have almost halved over the past two decades, according to the UN report, Nigeria’s rate — 630 deaths for every 100,000 live births — is the world’s 10th highest, behind nine other sub-Saharan African countries led by Chad and Somalia.
Statistics from the Save the Children organisation, an international non-profit group revealed that almost 800,000 Nigerian children die every year before their fifth birthday, making Nigeria the country with the highest number of new born deaths in Africa. The group said that majority of children deaths under age five, particularly in the northern parts of the country, were due to treatable and preventable diseases. The group released the figures at a Save the Children Special Campaign (STC) launched in Lagos last Tuesday.
Poor human development indices
Currently, Nigeria is ranked 142 out of 169 countries on the Global Human Development Index. Nigeria’s ranking was part of the 2010 Human Development Report released by the United Nations Development Programme in Abuja last Monday. The HDI is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide.
Indeed, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said recently that more than 112.5 million Nigerians were living below the poverty line.
It said the percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty — those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing — rose to 60.9 per cent in 2010, compared with 54.7 per cent in 2004.
According to the Statistician General of the Federation, Dr Yemi Kale, between 2004 and 2010, Nigeria’s poverty rate had moved from 54.4 per cent to 69 per cent involving 112,518,507 Nigerians, adding that although the country’s Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) had grown since then, it had little impact on the poverty situation.
How N80 trn was spent
Among the three tiers government, the Federal Government is the major spender. By the end of 2013, it would have spent N32.121 trillion. The Central government is distantly followed (See table) by Trillionaire states like Lagos (N3.282 trillion), Rivers (N3.079 trillion), Akwa Ibom (N2.651 trillion), Delta (N2.377 trillion), Bayelsa (N1.708 trillion), FCT (N1.336 trillion), Kaduna (N1.096 trillion), Kano (N1.057 trillion) and Oyo (N1.045 trillion).
The expenditures of Lagos and Rivers respectively within the period are equivalent to what the five states of the South-East geo-political zone (N3.345 trillion) and six states of the North-East geo-political zone (N3.752 trillion) spent in nine years.
Across the zones, the oil-rich South-South spent N11.503 trillion. It was followed by South-West (N7.30 trillion), North-West (N5.386 trillion), North-Central (N5.197 trillion), North-East (N3.752 trillion) and the least, South-East (N3.345 trillion).
BUDGET TABLE Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005 (In N billions)
S/No States 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
1 Abia 24.1 34.6 46.7 57.989 55.536 75.3 105.106 129.959 137.2
2 Adamawa 32.152 36.3 40 43.55 53.9 67.463 70.6 87.9 95
3 Akwa Ibom 87.17 118.68 184.03 265.15 283.813 288.834 419.785 533.113 470.08
4 Anambra 29.2 35.87 54.25 60.58 75.53 67 66.9 103.2 110.89
5 Bauchi 57.8 59.93 60 120 78.89 87.7 111.957 132.547 137.3
6 Bayelsa 116.2 176.6 148.2 186 164.13 178.52 214.59 238.158 285.93
7 Benue 44.91 46.3 44.84 64.65 63.29 89.49 71.6 159.78 130.992
8 Borno 50.5 48.5 56.1 78.87 75 85 99.8 149 184.3
9 Cross River 35.66 44.78 39.85 106.654 85.226 111.774 119 144.627 151.37
10 Delta 115.99 150 189 232.8 256.64 235.7 361.9 437.2 398
11 Ebonyi 21 28.67 31.2 57.74 73.05 76.205 73.5 86.869 104.374
12 Edo 45.12 51.2 46.98 60.66 80.59 99.25 163.86 150.045 150.97
13 Ekiti 28.9 26.2 31 80.91 65.8 69.93 92.5 95.5 97.6
14 Enugu 25.1 31.1 38.38 60.71 60.46 67.86 89.6 74.997 82.9
15 Gombe 30.66 26.41 50 65.29 51.64 55.6 79.4 93.535 107.893
16 Imo 35.7 37 43.4 112.9 134 127 124.475 178.638 197.744
17 Jigawa 40.42 48.8 55 67.1 76.7 70.9 77.293 109.525 115.4
18 Kaduna 48.27 59.77 77.05 94.08 153.17 196.7 136.5 154.3 176.4
19 Kano 41.6 49.99 60 71.48 108.7 110.3 157.69 221.7 235.3
20 Katsina 31.4 37.36 55 83 69.18 81.2 100 113 114
21 Kebbi 35 40 50 61.46 61.4 67.8 91.5 97.9 119.9
22 Kogi 31.31 33.89 45 52.37 78.669 78 80 126.411 132.6
23 Kwara 33.9 35.66 60 66.5 72.2 67 60.61 85.1 94.4
24 Lagos 112.7 224.23 277.77 403.4 405 429.5 445.18 485.3 499
25 Nasarawa 25.42 29.05 35.46 55.7 58.3 87.5 81.506 104 108
26 Niger 33.79 42.08 50 55.45 69.09 111 129 94.05 83.7
27 Ogun 40.55 48.58 54.8 77.34 100.02 100.73 98 200.55 211.86
28 Ondo 34.79 48.48 51.5 82.33 84.975 124.3 143 156 151
29 Osun 25.2 29.05 34.77 38 98.01 113 88.143 150.125
30 Oyo 39.3 60.7 66.23 115.88 128.4 138.851 147 196.072 152.12
31 Plateau 29.4 31.9 45 63.02 79.5 74.864 86.562 115 133.5
32 Rivers 144.8 168 183.38 377 432.28 429 415.9 438 490.32
33 Sokoto 35.8 41 48 53 54.8 75 76.78 100.7 115.83
34 Taraba 44.65 26.2 33 37.5 48.87 64.144 58.7 73.8 73
35 Yobe 33.12 38.47 44 73 46.47 62.42 69.22 78.5 86.6
36 Zamfara 43.14 38.68 66.5 76.5 59.4 73.06 59 120.81 125
37 FCT, Abuja 52.88 36 64.3 69.5 159.5 158 236 306.414 253.1998
38 Fed. Govt. 1.80 tn 1.90 tn 2.3 tn 3.58 tn 3.76 tn 4.61 tn 4.484 tn 4.7 tn 4.987 tn
TOTAL 3.54 tn 4.02 tn 4.86 tn 7.42 tn 7.86 tn 9.11 tn 9.59 tn 9.64 tn 11.30 tn
Legend: tn = trillion