Buhari Regime should make short-term plans to balance budgets – Tope Fasua

An Economist, Tope Fasua said on Sunday in Abuja that for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to balance the country’s annual budgets and even have a surplus, it must make short- and medium-term plans.

“It is commendable that government is responding to suggestions that our annual budgets should be larger. Considering per capita, and in view of devaluation of the Naira, N17.1 trillion is still not enough, but it is a step toward the right direction,” Mr Fasua explained. “The government should be thinking of balancing the budget at some point and have a surplus budget at some point.”

Mr. Fasua urged Buhari’s administration to take concrete steps to boost revenue generation to reduce budget deficits.

“More of such initiatives will gradually reduce deficit budgeting and also reduce borrowings to fund the budget. We can also look at taxation. Nigerians pay the lowest taxes, like VAT relative to most other countries. We seem to be resisting every attempt of the government to generate revenue,” added Mr. Fasua. “The recently introduced tax on carbonated drinks is commendable, but the government should have been a bit more aggressive with it.”

However, the past Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN)’s president, Okechukwu Unegbu says the N17.1 trillion 2022 budget was realistic considering the population of the country.

“Our debt servicing ratio is high. We are putting almost 70 percent of our earnings on debt. This is worrisome,” he said.

He urged the regime to look inwards by encouraging production and value addition to the country’s various natural resources, reducing importation and encouraging consumption of locally made products.