2017 Appropriation Bill will be about N7trillion - Osinbanjo said

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that we’ll probably have N7tn in 2017 budget, but it won’t make much difference.

The executive arm of government is preparing to present the budget to the National Assembly in days to come. But Osinbajo, the Chairman of the Economic

Management Team, speaking during a tour of some firms in Sagamu, Ogun State on Thursday said the budget though may look fair but certainly not the kind of size to make a huge difference in the nation’s economy. “Our entire budget size for 2016 is something in the order of just over N6tn and we will probably be moving to about N7tn in the 2017 budget.

“But N7tn is certainly not the kind of money,. It does sound like a fair amount of money, but certainly, it is not the kind of size that can really make a huge difference in a N90tn economy such as we have. “So, the real issue is that, the contribution of the Federal Government is catalytic. The Federal Government can only make some catalytic contributions in terms of infrastructure, and some incentives for the private sector.

“The real contribution is going to come from the private sector and that is why these partnerships are absolutely important to us, and what we are looking at is some game-changing type of projects, such as we have here. The type of projects that can make the real difference,” Osinbajo said.

According to him, the present government had continued to stress on the relevance of agriculture because it could employ a lot of people.
He added that government had resolved to partner with business outfits that could make the difference.

He said, “We certainly will be looking at all of the various ways that we can assist by ensuring that this project comes to conclusion in very reasonable time, and that we are able to take advantage of the
benefits as quickly as possible”, the Vice President stated.