Abuja (WorldStage Newsonline)-- The Federal Executive Council has approved the fiscal framework for the 2013 budget, which has projected an expenditure of N4.929 trillion and revenue of N3.891 trillion.

This is coming as government said it has intensified efforts to ensure further improvement in the implementation level of the current budget which is 41.3 per cent as at June.

The 2013 document was submitted to the cabinet by the Minister of Finance and coordinating minister for the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the weekly council meeting on Wednesday presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan. The theme for the 2013 budget is “fiscal consolidation with growth”.

She said collaboratively, "everybody has agreed that the work for budget for 2013 must start early this year that is why we have the fiscal strategy paper this early. Once we finish here we are going to transmit the document to the National Assembly".

The budget is expected to be ready for presentation to the National Assembly before the end of September. However the actual laying will be in October as member of the National Assembly are on recess. 

Other highlights of the 2013 budget which was reeled out by the Finance minister at the end of the weekly meeting which focused mainly on the 2013 budget is the benchmark of $75 per barrel as against $72 in 2012 and expected oil production of 2.5 million barrel per day as against 2.48 million barrels per day in 2012.

Projected Capital expenditure is also expected to rise in 2013 from 28.53 per cent to 31.34 per cent while recurrent expenditure is expected to decline from 71.47 per cent in 2012 to 68.66 per cent in 2013.

The minister also noted that work is on to ensure a decline in fiscal deficit and borrowing from 2.85 per cent and N744.44 billion in 2012 to 2.17 per cent and N727.19 billion in 2013 respectively. A further decline she said is expected by year 2015.

She also noted that government is to create a sinking fund of N25 billion yearly to accumulate money for paying off bonds while another N75 billion for debt

According to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who briefed alongside Information minister, Labaran Maku, Minister of state for Finance, Yerima Ngama and Director General of Budget, Dr. Bright Okongu, the 2013 budget proposal in anchored on the theme “fiscal consolidation with growth and job creation.”

She further explained that what it means is “that to continue to management to continue to manage the budget prudently and transparently and as efficiently as we can, while loading the main resources unto those areas that will generate the most growth for the economy. So at the same time you are holding the budget tight you are loading the resources into key sectors like infrastructures, power, roads, rails, that is fiscal infrastructure, not growth area like agriculture, water resources but also into human infrastructure like education and health. And of course encouraging other sectors like the solid minerals with the potential to create jobs. So that is the basic outline that we will be managing prudently".

To achieve this, she said that “the resources of the country will be managed prudently and transparently while ensuring priority is given to the key growth sectors of the economy and national security”

She also stressed that “fundamentally, the focus of the federal government’s proposals on Budget 2013 as reflected in the medium term expenditure framework and the fiscal strategy paper is that the budget should make practical impact on the areas that matter most to the Nigerian people-Job creation, power supply, roads, rail, other infrastructure and of course agriculture.”

To achieve the set goal of the budget, she said the administration will continue to trim down recurrent expenditure while capital expenditure will be scaled up.

“To help achieve this central objective, a key proposal of the fiscal strategy paper is the continuation of the downward trend in recurrent expenditure and upward trend in capital expenditure.

“In the same vein, the government is putting in place for the first time a strong strategy for managing domestic debt. The first part of this strategy is to ensure a decline in fiscal deficit and domestic borrowing.”

She further added that lots of emphasizes will be “on improving aggregate revenue receipts, optimizing expenditure and keeping the fiscal deficit at a reasonable level.”

Okonjo-Iweala also noted that the 2013 budget proposal is anchored on the key goal of the 2013-2015 Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks- fiscal consolidation with growth and job creation.