Nigerian government faces dilemma over 2002 Budget.

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration faces real dilemma on how to implement the 2002 national Budget, which he has since signed into law, without inflicting more pains on the country's troubled economy.

The 1.06 trillion-naira budget passed by the National Assembly in March 2002 is far in excess of the 840 billion naira Appropriation Bill sent to the parliament by the President in November 2001.

The National Assembly, either acting on its own or in concert with the Presidency, had increased most of the budgetary provisions in a move the lawmakers said would improve the living conditions of the population.

As things stand, the budget presents the last chance for the administration to convince Nigerians that it can deliver on its campaign promises.

Not wanting the opportunity to slip by, the government is therefore compelled to make money available to prosecute projects prescribed by the budget, at the risk of flooding the economy with funds, which could trigger hyper inflation and further weaken the local currency.

Expectedly, there has been much criticism of the jumbo budget.

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said the budget had in-built deficit of 10 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), against the 2.5 percent for the 2001 budget.