In 2019, the Debt Management Office (DMO) is expected to spend ₦2,264,711,421,667 a significant portion of which will go to settling interests on both internal and external public debts.
According to the 2019 proposed budget currently with the National Assembly, under the Service Wide Vote, the document stated that ₦120,000,000,000 will be set aside for the sinking fund. This is “a fund formed by periodically setting aside money for the gradual repayment of a debt or replacement of a wasting asset.”
This fund is considered very important by the federal government in paying off some of its matured bonds.
In the year, DMO hopes to spend ₦2,144,014,113,091 on public debt charges comprising of ₦1,710,218,672,442 for interest on internal public debts and ₦433,795,440,649 on external public debts.
The Service Wide Vote is a special entry in the annual budget that takes care of extra-ministerial spendings outside the immediate control of the supervising ministry.
Other entries under the Service Wide Vote in the 2019 budget include: Payment of local Contrators debts, for which ₦15,000,000,000 has been earmarked; ₦151,402,049,347 for Power Sector Reform Programme (NBET); ₦51,219,751,964 for the Implementation of National Health Act; ₦6,000,000 for DIA Civilain staff verification exercise (2018); another ₦9,556,566 for DIA Civilian staff administration charges (2018) and ₦10,000,000,000 for pension protection fund.
₦50,000,000 will be spent on pension verification and administration and ₦4,000,000,000 for Treasury Single Account (TSA) Operations in the new year.
To settle the electricity bills of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, a provision of ₦5,000,000,000 has been made in the budget.
For Nigeria Airways Ex-workers, ₦22,682,832,166 has been earmarked to settle their outstanding benefits in the new year while ₦21,250,424,823 will be for GAVI/IMMUNISATION and ₦20,000,000,000 for University revitalization.
For the military operation, Lafia Dole and other operations of the Armed forces, ₦75,000,000,000 has been captured for the exercise in 2019 and another ₦350,000,000,000 for FGN Special Intervention Programmes.
To meet its counterpart obligation towards the Federal Initiative for North-East, the federal government has proposed ₦45,000,000,000 and another ₦4,000,000,000 for counterpart funding for global fund/health/refund to Gavi and ₦3,500,000,000 to fund Galaxy infrastructure. The recapital of Development Finance Institutions (DFI) will receive ₦15,000,000,000.