Nigeria parliament passes budget
ABUJA - Nigeria's parliament has approved a spending plan of 976.254 billion naira (7.68 billion dollars) for the west African country this year, officials say.
The appropriation committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday raised by 28% the estimates President Olusegun Obasanjo sent to the National Assembly last November.
Officials said the rise was necessitated by the need to beef up security amid growing political violence in Africa's most populous country ahead of general elections in April.
Dozens of people have been killed in politically motivated violence in the run-up to the polls, the first since May 1999 when Nigeria returned to democracy after 15 years of military rule.
A prominent opposition leader, Marshall Harry, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in his home in the country's capital Abuja after returning from a late night political meeting.
The parliament allocated 593.9 billion naira (4.6 billion dollars) to recurrent expenditure while capital spending will account for 382.3 billion naira (around 3 billion dollars).
The budget is expected to be financed by earnings from oil, the mainstay of the country's economy.
The budget is based on an oil price of 22 dollars per barrel, as against 18 dollars proposed by the president, with parliament citing the improved fortunes of oil on the international market.
Oil prices have risen significantly in recent months owing to apprehension over a possible US-led war against Iraq and the political crisis in Venezuela.
Nigeria is the world's fifth largest oil producer. Oil is the west African country's prime resource and accounts for 90 percent of its exports by value.