DG Budget Office admits wastage in government expenditure

Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze

The Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, has admitted that there are wastages in government expenditure and asked that fiscal authorities should prioritise how to spend the available limited resources.

Akabueze, who advocated for the review of the petrol subsidy policy, denied insinuations that the government is spending too much money, saying that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration needs to explore more ways of generating revenue.

This was made known by Akabueze while speaking during an interview on a special Channels Television programme to mark Nigeria’s 62nd Independence anniversary, Channels Forum, where he said that the government’s spending on subsidies has been gulping a lot of resources after the personnel cost and debt servicing.

Akabueze advised the current administration to prioritise its spending while cutting down on some unnecessary waste.

What the DG Budget Office of the Federation is saying

Akabueze said, “We need to take a hard look at the petrol subsidy that is the single largest item of expenditure after personnel cost and debt service for the Federal Government.

“There are some wastes that we still need to cut. We need to do the job of prioritising how we spend the limited resources that are available.”

He admitted that the country is currently facing a significant deficit in its infrastructure, with many public services suffering.

Akabueze added, “Our problem is not that the government is spending too much money. The truth is that the government is not spending enough money and the numbers are there to show.

“The public expenditure to GDP ratio is at the bottom even on the African continent and that is why public services are suffering whether in health or education. The infrastructure faces a significant deficit. It is however correct that we can be more efficient in our expenditure.’’

What you should know

Recall that earlier in September 2022, Akabueze during an interview on Arise Television, stated that contrary to media reports of Nigeria having a debt problem insisted that the country does not have a debt problem but rather a revenue problem as Nigeria’s revenue to GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world, which is an underlying cause of the debt service to government revenue ratio.

He insisted that cutting back on government expenditure will have major medium-term effects.

Akabueze had also suggested the suspension of salary increases for government agencies and eliminating the fuel subsidy to avert a debt crisis and ensure Nigeria’s debt sustainability.

The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on August 29, 2022, said that the petrol subsidy will remain in place until mid-2023, with the federal government proposing to spend N3.36 trillion on petrol subsidy.

Nairametrics