President Jonathan Told to Reduce Ministries

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has been told by a key advisory panel to cut government's running costs. The chair of the Presidential Advisory Council, Theophilus Danjuma, said ministries should be cut or merged to free money for development schemes. The budget proposed for 2011 shows Nigeria would spend far more on the government than on infrastructure.

Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer, but the majority of its 150 million people still live in poverty. Parliamentarians' salaries are not made public in Nigeria, but diplomats say the country's politicians are among the best paid in the world. The BBC's Bashir Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says Mr Danjuma, a retired general and former defence minister, was appointed by Mr Jonathan and is a highly respected figure.

Mr Danjuma said that he realised the "far-reaching recommendations" made by the panel came on the eve of April's elections. "However we think also this is the right time we raise these issues," Nigeria's Daily Trust paper quotes him as saying. He said the president had promised feedback on the suggestions.

2011 Budget Proposal: $27.6bn

• Ministries: $12bn
• Other government bodies: $350m
• Parliament: $707m
• Pensions and gratuities: $1bn
• Transfers to statuary bodies: $1.3bn
• Debt payments: $3.5bn
• Other expenses: $2.6bn
• TOTAL RUNNING COSTS: $21bn
• CAPITAL EXPENDITURE: $6.5bn

"If necessary, we shall be involved in finding remedies to all the issues that we have raised," he said, the Nation newspaper reports. Mr Jonathan, who last week won the ruling party's ticket to run for president, thanked the panel for its report and said its recommendations would be taken seriously.

"You can't provide education, health or security without resources generated from a robust economy," he said. The finance minister has set up a committee to review the government's running costs, and has said cuts have already by made, Reuters news agency reports.

The president's proposal for this year's national budget, which is currently before parliament, shows that nearly 75% of the $27.6bn (£17bn) would be spent on running government and its agencies. Only $6.5bn is proposed for spending on capital projects, such as investment in vital infrastructure.

Mr Jonathan's main opponents for the presidency in April will be former anti-corruption campaigner Nuhu Ribadu and Gen Muhammadu Buhari.

Culled from the BBC