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afrol News, 7 March - The Senate of Nigeria has passed the budget for the 2003 fiscal year, totalling almost 1 trillion nairas (US$ 7.6 billion). Revenues in the budget are based on crude oil price estimated far below the current high level, which however remain very unstable. According to a press release by the Nigerian government, the Abuja Senate on Wednesday, March 5, passes a budget of naira 976.2 billion for the 2003 fiscal year. "Out of the total budget estimates, N593.9 billion is for recurrent expenditure while N382.3 billion is for capital expenditure," the statement says. The 2003 budget thus has swollen by 28 percent since the original proposal by President Olusegun Obasanjo in November. Calculating with higher oil revenues, the Senate had found it reasonable to spend more on national security, given the increase in ethnic and religious violence during the last years. Also the judiciary was to get more funds than originally foreseen. The Nigerian government especially highlights that the recurrent budget gives N63.2 billion (US$ 492 million) to education, something corresponding to US$ 4 each Nigerian. Further, police gets N56.2 billion (US$ 437 million), defence N54.5 billion (US$ 424 million) and health gets N32.6 billion (US$ 254 million). The Nigerian government thus will spend about US$ 2 per person in health care. Presenting the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on 2003 budget to the Senate, Committee Chairman Senator Udoma Udo Udoma stated that the budget was based on a reference crude oil price of US$ 22 dollars per barrel as opposed to the US$ 21 per barrel initially projected. The adjustment, he said, was after "extensive consultations", including consultation with the government. President Obasanjo had originally proposed to set an oil price of US$ 18 per barrel to assure a prudent budget. The price of crude oil however now stands at about US$ 34.50 per barrel, due to the US threats to attack Iraq, but is expected to fall rapidly if a US attack on Iraq shows rapid successes. Nigeria is the world's fifth largest oil producer and some 90 percent of its export values origin in its oil and gas production. Other slight increases in the budget, Senator Udoma said, had mainly been requests from the government. He however added that his committee had to increase the judiciary's budget, which was cut by the government from N28 billion as provided for last year to N18 billion. The increase, he said, was for the National Judicial Council to provide fully for the payment of the salaries and other entitlements of judicial officers. The thrust of the budget, Senator Udoma said, is on "completing existing infrastructural projects" so as to "consolidate our gains." According to the government, these were principally in the provision of water, in improving power supply, maintenance and construction of roads and the improvement of the infrastructure of the Federal capital Territory, surrounding the capital Abuja. Furthermore, special provision of N703 billion had been made for the payment of joint ventures cash calls of N441 billion, external debt Service of N252 billion and transfer to NDDC of N10 billion. This special provision was not part of the total sum of N976.2 billion budget for the 2003 fiscal year, Senator Udoma stressed.
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