Economy diversification is the major focus of the 2015 budget – Okonjo-Iweala

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday said the 2015 budget is structured primarily for the diversification of the economy.

She stated this shortly after laying the 2015 budget estimates before the Senate in Abuja, adding that the budget was also structured to protect the interest of average Nigerians. “We have submitted the 2015 budget, the highlights are, the benchmark price for oil is $65 and production figure of 2.27m bpd. “We have estimated a Gross Domestic Product growth based on the circumstances of the country, which will be about 5.5 per cent. “This is down from the 6.35 per cent we had earlier from the National Bureau of Statistics, which is still one of the best growth rate in the World.

“The budget seeks to protect the average Nigerian because the key is that it focuses on the diversification of the economy and it has been working because food prices have not risen in spite of the depreciation of the Naira. “If you check all around the markets, you will observe that the average Nigerian is still enjoying stable food prices. “In some places like Enugu, the prices of garri has even fallen. Inflation rate as estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics has fallen from 8.1 to 7.9 per cent. “This budget really focuses on moving us to diversify the economy and raise non oil revenue. “We have made up for the fall of $13 per barrel, from $17 to $65, by raising non oil revenue through various types of taxes and policies. “The surcharge on luxury goods is there, plus additional tax efforts to close leakages in revenue,” Okonjo-Iweala said.