President Muhammadu Buhari will on December 1, 2016 present the 2017 Budget to the Joint sitting of the National Assembly.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, made this disclosure while contributing to the debate on the projected assumptions made by the executive in the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Akpabio described the proposal as unrealistic.
According to him: “Yesterday (Tuesday) you made reference to the fact that the President may be coming to the chambers to submit and read the 2017 budget on 1st of December (Next week Thursday).
“If that is the case and we send this (MTEF) back for reworking by the Presidency, it means that we will not be able to meet that deadline.
“But if we send it to the committee level, they may come up with something within the next three days that will be much, much realistic ahead of the budget presentation itself.”
Akpabio pleaded with his colleagues not to reject the document based on the unrealistic projections contained in the proposal by the Presidency.
He said: “We can see that we don’t have a perfect document in our hands, but of course we are looking at assumptions and assumptions may not necessarily be correct.
“I want to suggest that we send it to the committee.
“Of course, the committees will invite the relevant agencies and ministries of government.
“And they will come up with a more realistic MTEF/FSP.
“So, my appeal will be that the committee members should take into cognisance all the submissions and observations made today so that we can come up with a more realistic MTEF and FSP.”
Others senators in their contributions to the debate on the MTEF declared that the document is “empty”.
The senators who spoke against the proposal were Dino Melaye, Bayero Nafada, Adeola Olamilekan, Mohammed Hassan, Emmanuel Paulker and Abiodun Olujimi.
The senators said the proposal should be returned to the Presidency for amendment.
Some of the assumptions in the MTEF document kicked against by the senators are the 2.2 million barrel per day oil production as against 1.6 million barrel per day production that it is presently, exchange rate of N290 to a US dollar as against N305 to a dollar officially announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, two days ago.
Others are 3.02% GDP growth rate for 2017 as against -2.44% growth rate it is now, from 2.06% it was during the second quarter as a result of recession.
But some other senators such as Ahmad Lawan and Ahmed Rufai Sani , supported the document submitted by President Buhari.
The Senate Presiddent, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in his own remarks agreed that the document was full of unrealistic assumptions but called on the senators to allow the Senate give it a second look at committee level, to which they concure to.
Saraki said: “There is no doubt about the fact that these projections are not realistic.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it is using N305 (to a dollar).
“There is no doubt as well that throughout this year, we did not achieve 2.2 million barrels per day.
“Even in time of peace (in the oil rich Niger Delta), we have not achieved 2.5mbpd.
“How realistic is 2.2mbpd next year?
“The oil price as well looks conservative.
“Like some of our distinguished colleagues said, our responsibility is to work on it and use our capacity to do the right thing.
“We have our Committees on Appropriation and Finance that should not just take anything from the executive, sign it and return it (verbatim).
“If it means that we have to rehash it, look at it again, turn it around and do what is right, then that it our responsibility.
“I think that it is just the way to go rather than to just take a document from the executive and return the same to it.
“It is clear from what was submitted (by the lawmakers) today that it will not work like that this time around.”
Saraki asked the Committees on Finance and Appropriation to do a through work on the MTEF and FSP before returning it back to Senate for consideration.
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