Jonathan, Sambo, Anyim to spend N1.59bn on feeding in 2013

The offices of President, Goodluck Jonathan, the Vice-President Namadi Sambo and that of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim will spend N1.59bn on vague times they tagged as welfare packages in 2013.

While Anyim’s office shares N1.07bn; the President and the vice president are expected to spend N355.9m and N160.83m respectively. The 2013 budget as presented by Jonathan last Wednesday shows that Nigeria will spend slightly less than N1bn (precisely N990.24m) in
feeding Jonathan and Sambo next year.

The estimate  shows that His Excellency will spend not less than N406, 738,969 on foodstuffs and catering materials in the year 2013.

The gas for cooking the President’s food will cost N13, 420,750, while refreshment and meals in the State House will cost the nation N327,
154,931.

Also, foodstuffs and catering materials for the Vice President, Namadi Sambo is expected to cost the oil-rich Nigeria N112, 500,000 in 2013,

while the gas for cooking the food will cost N7, 020,750. Refreshment and meals will cost N123, 402,499 for the VP’s office in 2013.

These total expenses bring the total cost of feeding the Presidential Villa to N990.24m for the 2013 fiscal year.
Jonathan while presenting the 2013 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly said the Federal Government would try to save cost as a result of deteriorating resources.
He said, “The uncertainty surrounding the global economy, which could have adverse effects on commodity prices, highlights the downside risks for our economy. The oil market is well known for its volatility. We recall the 2008 experience at the height of the global economic downturn when oil prices fell almost overnight from $147 per barrel to $38 per barrel.
“This threat of oil price volatility remains constant and underscores the need to rely on a robust and prudent methodology to estimate the benchmark price. The global economic slowdown can also have far-reaching implications for the demand for our export commodities, given that the Euro zone and the United States of America account for over 50 per cent of the nation’s crude oil exports.
“These global developments are also being transmitted to our economy through a dampening effect on foreign capital inflows and remittances by Diaspora Nigerians. These are uncertain times in the world economy, and my administration is continuing to take necessary steps to mitigate possible adverse effects of the global economic slowdown on Nigeria.
“In spite of these, our economy has done relatively well. Over the past nine months, through a number of initiatives, we have created new jobs directly and supported many young entrepreneurs running SMEs to create jobs.”
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