The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, said on Wednesday that the 2017 budget which was officially transmitted to the Presidency last week is still being reviewed and analysed by ministers, thereafter recommendations would be made to the President before it is signed.
The minister disclosed at the end of the weekly FEC meeting in Abuja.
“When the budget is approved we first analyse it, review it and then make our recommendations to the President. We are working hard, we are still in the analysing process and getting input from the ministers,” he said.
The minister also told journalists that the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (DGP) figures released by the National Bureau for Statistics on Tuesday was encouraging because they indicate that government interventions are working.
“This is the best figures released in four quarters and there is still enough time to make more efforts to stimulate the economy.
He said: “We found the First quarter GDP performance encouraging, the best we have had in four quarters and it is a sign that we are moving out of recession.
“We realize that we still have to work very hard and we will continue with the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. We believe that the interventions we are making and the steps we are taking are in the right direction.
“The results that were released were for one quarter. There are still three-quarters and we have enough time to do better we will work hard to continue to stimulate the economy to meet our target,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the establishment of a National Forest Trust Fund to be financed by the major wood stakeholders in the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Environment, Mr. Usman Jibrin.
“As part of efforts to ensure forest sustainability, states will be fully involved as most forestry reserves are under them. There is a temporary ban on export of specific types of wood,” he said.
