President Goodluck Jonathan has been given more cash to spend by the Senate, which padded the 2014 Budget with N52.2 billion, approving a total N4.695 trillion rather than the N4.642trn submitted on behalf of the President by the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, last December 19. The Senate passed the budget after a clause-by-clause consideration.

Highlights of the 2014 budget as approved by the Senate are statutory transfers (N408,687,801,891), debt service (N712,000,000,000), recurrent expenditure (N2,454,887,566,702) and capital expenditure (N1,119,614,631,407). The aggregate expenditure is N4,695,190,000,000.

There is also a Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) component of the budget to the tune of N268,370,000,000, which did not form part of Jonathan’s proposed aggregate budget figure of N4.6429trn but was captured in the final compilation of the bill.

The executive proposal submitted by President Jonathan was made up of N399,687,801,891 statutory transfers, N712,000,000,000 for debt service, N2,430,665,361,597 (recurrent, non-debt expenditure), and while the balance of N1,100,606,836,512 for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure.

Jonathan had pegged $74 per barrel as benchmark oil price for the budget, but the Senate raised it up to $77.5 per barrel as earlier agreed with the House of Representatives before the final consideration of the budget.

It, however, retained other parameters like estimated crude oil production of 2.3883 million barrels per day, GDP growth rate of 6.75 per cent, inflation rate of 9.5 per cent and exchange rate of N160 to one US dollar.

On its part, the House of Representatives will today begin consideration of the report of the 2014 budget which was presented to the House yesterday by the chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Hon. John Enoh.

•Photo shows Senate President David Mark.