From every indication, 2016 will be one of the toughest years for Nigerians in recent history. This is because all fiscal indices points to a year of financial drought for the government as expected revenue from crude oil spirals downwards. To this end, top government officials have been warning Nigerians to brace up for a tighter fiscal year. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma reiterated this saying that the negative economic and social issues happening across the world and in Nigeria in particular will have severe consequences..
Udoma spoke at an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Senator Udoma said that the Federal Government would cut all frivolous expenditure in the 2016 budget and overheads will be reduced by 7%.
Also at the session where the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, the minister of state, petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Kemi Adeosun, explained how the Federal Government plans to cut recurrent expenditure. She said that in the proposed framework, capital expenditure of 16% in the 2015 budget was raised to 30% in 2016 but with dwindling oil prices, economic analysts have expressed concern about how government intends to fund the 2016 budget
While Kachikwu gave a breakdown of the oil and gas sector, including how much has been spent on petroleum subsidy in 2015.
In the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, the 6.077 trillion naira budget with a revenue target of 3.82 trillion naira, projects a deficit of 2.22 trillion naira and projects that recurrent expenditure would drop from 84% in the 2015 budget to 70% in 2016.