Two contentious economic policy factors dominated discussion in the past week. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.5 per cent and other monetary policy variables like the cash reserve ratio, liquidity ratio, and the Asymmetric corridor, which was retained at +50/-40 basis points around the monetary policy rate. The second policy factor has to do with some irregularities with the annual budget of the federal government. Let us discuss each of these issues in sequence,The benchmark interest rate of 26.5 per cent remains a contentious issue because of its implications for borrowing or the cost of credit to customers, particularly private sector investors. The high interest rate is expected to prevent borrowers from obtaining credit from the banks and, by implication, reduce the money supply in the economy. A reduction in money supply would prevent inflation. According to the central bank, there is too much money in the economy, and there is a need to reduce it or keep it from growing. The Bank believes that earlier retention of the high rate has prevented the inflation rate from rising. But there is more to the inflation rate in Nigeria than monetary factors.Actually, the quantum of money the Central Bank is witnessing in its books is not in the economy; otherwise, citizens will not be crying for a shortage of money in the economy. A large proportion of the money is being hoarded by politicians for elections. So, money is not allowed to play its role as a medium of exchange, which has a way of keeping an economy active and growing. Most transactions today, even for small purchases, are carried out using e-banking or cashless. In fact, the policy of the central bank that fuels inflation is the non-availability and circulation of small denominations of the naira. Only higher denominations of naira, namely N500 and N1000, are available at the ATMs.So, sellers offer their products in multiples of N500 or N1000 such that they would not need to be looking for change. Thus, a product that should sell for N100 each is being sold for three for N500 in the market in the absence of N100 and to avoid giving N200 change when given N500. This is a form of induced inflation duly but inadvertently caused by the CBN. The high policy rate from the Central Bank signals higher interest rates for the banks because the benchmark rate is the rate at which a central bank will lend to a bank if it wants to borrow from the central bank.This implies that a commercial bank must charge higher interest rates to its customers. In developing countries like Nigeria, availability rather than cost determines the credit request. So, at high interest rates, businesses still borrow rather than look for other sources of credit that could be cheaper. Actually, there is a narrower array of sources of funds in this category of countries than in advanced economies. The high interest rates add to other rising costs of production, like the energy price that are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of high prices of commodities.Related NewsFG earmarks nearly N1tn for SUVs, empowerment amid borrowing pressureBanks’ maximum lending rate drops to 33.16%Businesses split over borrowing costs, access to creditInflation in Nigeria is largely caused by structural issues rather than monetary. That was why commodity prices started going down when energy prices were going down sometime last month. The Monetary Policy Committee needs to review this issue before their next meeting and offer a cheaper credit policy.The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. The benchmark interest rate of 26.5 per cent remains a contentious issue because of its implications for borrowing or the cost of credit to customers, particularly private sector investors. The high interest rate is expected to prevent borrowers from obtaining credit from the banks and, by implication, reduce the money supply in the economy. A reduction in money supply would prevent inflation. According to the central bank, there is too much money in the economy, and there is a need to reduce it or keep it from growing. The Bank believes that earlier retention of the high rate has prevented the inflation rate from rising. But there is more to the inflation rate in Nigeria than monetary factors.Actually, the quantum of money the Central Bank is witnessing in its books is not in the economy; otherwise, citizens will not be crying for a shortage of money in the economy. A large proportion of the money is being hoarded by politicians for elections. So, money is not allowed to play its role as a medium of exchange, which has a way of keeping an economy active and growing. Most transactions today, even for small purchases, are carried out using e-banking or cashless. In fact, the policy of the central bank that fuels inflation is the non-availability and circulation of small denominations of the naira. Only higher denominations of naira, namely N500 and N1000, are available at the ATMs.So, sellers offer their products in multiples of N500 or N1000 such that they would not need to be looking for change. Thus, a product that should sell for N100 each is being sold for three for N500 in the market in the absence of N100 and to avoid giving N200 change when given N500. This is a form of induced inflation duly but inadvertently caused by the CBN. The high policy rate from the Central Bank signals higher interest rates for the banks because the benchmark rate is the rate at which a central bank will lend to a bank if it wants to borrow from the central bank.This implies that a commercial bank must charge higher interest rates to its customers. In developing countries like Nigeria, availability rather than cost determines the credit request. So, at high interest rates, businesses still borrow rather than look for other sources of credit that could be cheaper. Actually, there is a narrower array of sources of funds in this category of countries than in advanced economies. The high interest rates add to other rising costs of production, like the energy price that are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of high prices of commodities.Related NewsFG earmarks nearly N1tn for SUVs, empowerment amid borrowing pressureBanks’ maximum lending rate drops to 33.16%Businesses split over borrowing costs, access to creditInflation in Nigeria is largely caused by structural issues rather than monetary. That was why commodity prices started going down when energy prices were going down sometime last month. The Monetary Policy Committee needs to review this issue before their next meeting and offer a cheaper credit policy.The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. Actually, the quantum of money the Central Bank is witnessing in its books is not in the economy; otherwise, citizens will not be crying for a shortage of money in the economy. A large proportion of the money is being hoarded by politicians for elections. So, money is not allowed to play its role as a medium of exchange, which has a way of keeping an economy active and growing. Most transactions today, even for small purchases, are carried out using e-banking or cashless. In fact, the policy of the central bank that fuels inflation is the non-availability and circulation of small denominations of the naira. Only higher denominations of naira, namely N500 and N1000, are available at the ATMs.So, sellers offer their products in multiples of N500 or N1000 such that they would not need to be looking for change. Thus, a product that should sell for N100 each is being sold for three for N500 in the market in the absence of N100 and to avoid giving N200 change when given N500. This is a form of induced inflation duly but inadvertently caused by the CBN. The high policy rate from the Central Bank signals higher interest rates for the banks because the benchmark rate is the rate at which a central bank will lend to a bank if it wants to borrow from the central bank.This implies that a commercial bank must charge higher interest rates to its customers. In developing countries like Nigeria, availability rather than cost determines the credit request. So, at high interest rates, businesses still borrow rather than look for other sources of credit that could be cheaper. Actually, there is a narrower array of sources of funds in this category of countries than in advanced economies. The high interest rates add to other rising costs of production, like the energy price that are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of high prices of commodities.Related NewsFG earmarks nearly N1tn for SUVs, empowerment amid borrowing pressureBanks’ maximum lending rate drops to 33.16%Businesses split over borrowing costs, access to creditInflation in Nigeria is largely caused by structural issues rather than monetary. That was why commodity prices started going down when energy prices were going down sometime last month. The Monetary Policy Committee needs to review this issue before their next meeting and offer a cheaper credit policy.The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. So, sellers offer their products in multiples of N500 or N1000 such that they would not need to be looking for change. Thus, a product that should sell for N100 each is being sold for three for N500 in the market in the absence of N100 and to avoid giving N200 change when given N500. This is a form of induced inflation duly but inadvertently caused by the CBN. The high policy rate from the Central Bank signals higher interest rates for the banks because the benchmark rate is the rate at which a central bank will lend to a bank if it wants to borrow from the central bank.This implies that a commercial bank must charge higher interest rates to its customers. In developing countries like Nigeria, availability rather than cost determines the credit request. So, at high interest rates, businesses still borrow rather than look for other sources of credit that could be cheaper. Actually, there is a narrower array of sources of funds in this category of countries than in advanced economies. The high interest rates add to other rising costs of production, like the energy price that are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of high prices of commodities.Related NewsFG earmarks nearly N1tn for SUVs, empowerment amid borrowing pressureBanks’ maximum lending rate drops to 33.16%Businesses split over borrowing costs, access to creditInflation in Nigeria is largely caused by structural issues rather than monetary. That was why commodity prices started going down when energy prices were going down sometime last month. The Monetary Policy Committee needs to review this issue before their next meeting and offer a cheaper credit policy.The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. This implies that a commercial bank must charge higher interest rates to its customers. In developing countries like Nigeria, availability rather than cost determines the credit request. So, at high interest rates, businesses still borrow rather than look for other sources of credit that could be cheaper. Actually, there is a narrower array of sources of funds in this category of countries than in advanced economies. The high interest rates add to other rising costs of production, like the energy price that are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of high prices of commodities.Related NewsFG earmarks nearly N1tn for SUVs, empowerment amid borrowing pressureBanks’ maximum lending rate drops to 33.16%Businesses split over borrowing costs, access to creditInflation in Nigeria is largely caused by structural issues rather than monetary. That was why commodity prices started going down when energy prices were going down sometime last month. The Monetary Policy Committee needs to review this issue before their next meeting and offer a cheaper credit policy.The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. Inflation in Nigeria is largely caused by structural issues rather than monetary. That was why commodity prices started going down when energy prices were going down sometime last month. The Monetary Policy Committee needs to review this issue before their next meeting and offer a cheaper credit policy.The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. The International Monetary Fund and Atiku Abubakar raised issues over N8.83tn off-budget spending that affected the true picture of the fiscal deficit. The IMF reported that the federal government failed to record public expenditures totalling about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product, amounting to N8.83tn based on a nominal GDP of N441.5 trillion. There is also the case that major government capital projects were executed off budget provision, which made the national fiscal deficit and borrowing requirements much lower than actual. The IMF noted that the statistics do not add up and the discrepancy complicated financial accountability.Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. Atiku Abubakar’s position on the need to probe the noted discrepancy and accountability by EFCC and ICPC may be viewed as rambling of an opposition figure, but the need to do so is imperative. Actually, when we look at the issues surrounding the federal budget, it falls short of transparency and accountability. In the last two or three years, the budgets were submitted late to the National Assembly for consideration and authorisation. The passage of the budget is always late, and when eventually passed, the implementation takes another six months or more, but the government continues to spend money based on overlapping. The 2024 and 2025 budgets were operated this way, and even now, we do not know which year’s budget is being implemented!It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. It is under this democratic dispensation that new, unholy terminologies enter our budget lexicon. Budget padding, budget revamping, budget delay, hidden figures, unholy insertion, et cetera become regular terms. Under Muhammadu Buhari, the budget constitutional requirements were fulfilled, and we thought that the correction would be maintained, but we have since moved backwards, even to where the budget does not matter. In a situation where budgets take longer than necessary, the possibility of manipulation and unholy insertions becomes easy and unavoidable.Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords. Passing a budget is now like fulfilling a ritual rather than upholding one of the fundamental tenets of governance. The implementation of the budget concentrates on recurrent expenditure at the neglect of capital expenditure. Whereas it is capital expenditure that has a greater impact on the economy in terms of output and employment generation than recurrent expenditure. In Anambra State, the high ratio of recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure has been reversed, and the benefits are glaring. Hopefully, the new Minister of Finance will do the needful by correcting the anomalies observed in the current state of budget and budgeting in Nigeria with transparency and accountability as watchwords.