By Joshua Egbodo
Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has forwarded the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the consideration of the House of Representatives in preparation for the 2018 budget.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 requires the President to send in the MTEF/FSP for the approval of the National Assembly, upon which the coming year’s budget estimates are predicated.
Buhari, in the letter conveying the transmission, dated October 9, 2017, and addressed to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, said “the MTEF and FSP were prepared against the backdrop of a generally adverse global economic uncertainty, as well as fiscal challenges and recovery in the domestic economy to ensure that planned spending is set at prudent and sustainable levels.
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” While stressing that the proposals had also been designed to be in consistence with government’s overall developmental objectives and inclusive growth, the President noted that he trusted “it would be kindly considered and approved expeditiously in order to bring the 2018 FGN budget preparatory process to early closure.
” Though details of the MTEF and FSP were not immediately available, it would be recalled that The Federal Executive Council had, in August, approved the document.
“In terms of crude oil production, our projection for next year (2018) is 2.3 million barrel per day.
We expect it to be broken down as 1.8m b/d regularly crude and then 500k b/d in terms of condensates and the price that we projected for next year is $45 a barrel,” the Minister of National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, had explained some projections in the MTEF.
