BUDGET 2002 FOR CONSOLIDATION

At the Joint Session of The National Assembly

Abuja, 7 November, 2001

I am pleased to address you on the Appropriation Bill of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the year 2002. At a similar presentation last year, I extolled the virtue of our working together as partners committed to building a new kind of government that meets the aspirations of the Nigerian people. The mutually esteeming spirit that currently defines our relationship bears witness to the fact that we place great premium on the needs of our people.

The events of September Eleven - in the United States, and its aftermath, have accelerated recession in most regions of the world. The fortunes of our yet monolithic economy are directly linked to the state of global economies, thus foisting upon us the same kind of challenges that periods of recession bring on other countries. I therefore present this budget against the backdrop of declining revenues and unpredictable global economic climate. Our reasonable projection in this budget, which some may regard as optimistic, is in fact 30 per cent less than the current 2001 Budget. Seasons like these call for bold and decisive action. Such periods also call for humaneness, compassion, understanding and empathy for people's needs and priorities within the boundaries of limited resource envelop.

I wish to acknowledge with sincere appreciation, the contributions the National Assembly has made toward efforts aimed at transforming our budget articulation and implementation processes. These have been of value to the success so far achieved in the preparatory work for the