Reps pass MTEF, fix oil benchmark for $54 per barrel

The house of representatives on Thursday passed the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF), putting the oil benchmark for the 2015 budget at $54 per barrel against the $65 proposed by the federal government.

However, the senate, in February, passed the MTEF, putting the oil benchmark for the 2015 budget at $52 per barrel.

Presenting the report of the committee on finance, appropriations, aids, loans and debt management, legislative budget and research, Abdulmumin Jibrin, chairman of the committee, prayed the house to adopt the exchange rate of N198 to $1 for the 2015 budget.

According to the report, the total expenditure for the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) should be reduced from N102. 50 billion to N21. 03 billion owing to the fall in crude oil price.

The report advised that details of SURE-P projects to be executed by the government should be attached to the annual budget estimates for the approval of the national assembly.

“Government should strengthen and consolidate its fiscal strategy to narrow the gap between projected and actual revenue for the period 2015-2017, curtailing oil theft and diversifying the economy to increase tax bases,” it recommended.

“The non-oil projection for the 2015 budget to be increased from N3.539, 07 trillion to N4.024, 11 trillion.”

The report further recommended that the total recurrent (non-debt) expenditure be reduced from N2,616.01 trillion to N2,584.08 trillion; total capital expenditure be increased from N633.53 billion to N700. 58 billion; and statutory allocation to the National Judicial Council be increased from N73 billion to N78 billion.

“The service-wide vote of N360.94 billion should be scrapped from the budget. All expected line expenditures under this vote should be channelled into the various line ministries for proper monitoring,” it also recommended.

The house committee on finance report further called for a reduction in the cost of governance and improved revenue collection, with a view to attaining a healthy recurrent and capital expenditure ratio.

Regarding kerosene subsidy, the report urged the “relevant committees” of the national assembly to exercise thorough oversight function over the process to ensure its “full implementation, accessibility and availability,” suggesting that the subsidy on kerosene could also be scrapped.

The 2015 budget of N4.3 trillion was laid before the national assembly by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in December, 2014. With the passing of the MTEF, it is expected that the budget will now receive accelerated attention at the national assembly.