2014 FGN Budget of Job Creation And Inclusive Growth – Do The Figures Support The Policy Enunciation?

Abstract

In this short paper, we reviewed the general theme of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) 2014 Budget vis-à-vis the sectoral allocations to assess if the figures in the budget support the government enunciation as budget of job creation and inclusive growth.  A cursory look at the sectoral allocations appears to favour key sectors that would drive the needs of the economy in the areas of human capital development, job creation and economic diversification.   However, the higher preference for recurrent expenditure across all sectors reduces the potential impact that government spending would have on achieving these goals in 2014. In other words, despite the opportunities that the low government spending on capital expenditure portents for private sector participation in many sectors in 2014, we are of the opinion that some of the sectoral allocations are dismal and may be counterproductive to the successes of the ongoing transformation agenda of the government.  Our analysis therefore, provides some support that the budget may not achieve its targets and we proffered some way forward for government.