Buhari orders reduction of recurrent expenditure in 2016 budget

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered the National Planning Commission to go back to the drawing board and produce the framework for the 2016 national budget that will reduce recurrent expenditure and prioritise developmental projects.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.

Shehu said the President gave the order after receiving a briefing from the Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr. Bassey Akpanyung, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said the President told Akpanyung and the directors of the NPC that capital projects must now be given priority because Nigeria cannot achieve real development without adequate investment in capital and infrastructural projects.

“In carrying out its role in surveillance of the economy, review and appraisal of policies, the commission should devise a plan for a realignment of the budget so that capital projects can be really prioritised,” the President directed.

– Punch