The Senate on Tuesday increased the price of crude oil to $28 against the $25 per barrel proposed by the executive to the National Assembly for the 2020 Budget.
The Senate’s decision was sequel to the report of the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, mandated to work on the revised MTEF/FSP documents by the Executive, which was presented on the floor.
The upper legislative chamber also fixed oil production at 1.8 million barrels per day.
Other assumptions cum proposals retained are N5.09 trillion Federal Government revenue, N10.51 trillion proposed expenditure, N4.95 trillion fiscal deficit and N4.17 trillion new borrowings, including foreign and domestic borrowing.
Others are N398.5 billion as Statutory Transfers, N2.68 trillion for debt serving, N272.9 billion as sinking fund and N536.7 billion for pension and gratuities.
They upper legislative chamber also retained the critical components of the proposal as presented by the Executive, with the adoption of N10.51 trillion as total expenditure, N4.93 trillion as total recurrent, N2.83 trillion for personnel cost and N2.23 trillion for capital expenditure.
Adeola (APC Lagos West) in his submission said the increase effected on the oil price benchmark was as a result of the recent upward trend of the crude oil market, which as at today stood at $38 per barrel, with a very strong expectation that the price will rise to as high as between $40 and $45 per barrel.
