- Seeks Oct 8 date to present document
- Red chamber passes 2020-2022 MTEF/FSP
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari Senate has written to the Nigerian Senate requesting to present the 2020 Appropriation Bill before a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Confirmation of the President’s written request, dated October 2, 2019 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, came when the letter was read at plenary on Thursday.
The letter said: “May I crave the kind indulgence of the Distinguished Senate to grant me the slot of 1400 hours on Tuesday, 8th October, 2019, to formally present the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the Joint session of the National Assembly.
“Please accept, Mr. Senate President, the assurances of my highest regards, as I look forward to addressing the Joint Session”.
In a related development, the Senate has passed the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
The document, which usually forms the basis for Nigeria’s annual budget proposals, was sent by the President to the National Assembly (NASS) last week.
The Senate made 16 recommendations to the Executive following consideration of the report of the Joint Committees on Finance and National Planning.
It also proposed N10.729 trillion as total estimated Federal government expenditure of the Federal, as against N10.002 trillion while recommending daily oil production of 2.18 million barrels in 2020, as well as $57 per barrel as benchmark for the fiscal year.
Additionally, the red chamber recommended that the revenue target of the Nigerian Customs Service of N942.6bn Naira for 2020 be increased to N1.5 trillion.
According to the Senate, the sum of N557.4 billion from the revenue increment of the Nigeria Customs Service be used to reduce borrowing by N200 billion increase on capital expenditure.
Left unchanged by the lawmakers is the exchange rate of N305 to $1, as proposed by the Executive for economic stability.
It recommended that the saving on income accruing from the increase of the benchmark amounting to N172 billion, which represents the federal government portion of the $2 added to the benchmark, be used to pay salaries and emoluments for the proposed 30,000 new employees by the federal government.
Insisting that proper investigation be carried out on the e-collection stamp duty domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the past years, the lawmakers said the exercise will not only demonstrate probity and accountability, but also enhance nation’s the revenue base.
The Senate further called for proper investigation on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, so as to ascertain the actual cost associated with joint venture agreements.
The Senate President, who spoke on the MTEF/FSP proposals, challenged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to widen its tax net while also stressing the need for government to pay more attention to its economic diversification efforts.
“We have lost so much ground over the years. Time has come to diversify this economy, oil is becoming something else, it is not going to be a darling of anyone.
“So we need to have an economy that provides jobs for everybody and create wealth. This includes diversifying in agriculture, solid minerals and tourism”, Senator Lawan said, even as he urged all National Assembly committees to ensure accountability in the procurement process.
According to the Senate President; “We must ensure that our procurement process is properly monitored. This budget should give us that opportunity”, adding; “There must be efficiency, and prudence in the way and manner we do procurement.”
