The Senate yesterday received a revised version of the 2015-2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, MTEF-FSP from President Goodluck Jonathan, one which saw a cut to the 2015 Appropriation by N235 billion.
The revised version of the MTEF document as transmitted by the president was a move by the federal government to reflect the present economic realities in view of the global crash of the oil price from over $100 per barrel to less than $80 per barrel.
The new document received by the senate has the 2015 budget estimate reduced from the initial proposal of N482 trillion to N466 trillion against N4, 724.69 in 2014
Also, the President in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, David Mark, reviewed the oil benchmark for the 2015 Appropriation to $73 per barrel against the initial proposal of $78 per barrel.
Recall that President Jonathan had in early October this year, forwarded to the National Assembly the MTEF-FSP and had proposed $78 per barrel as the oil benchmark in preparation of the 2015 Appropriation.
The letter which was dated October 15, 2014, and addressed to the Senate President, David Mark, had stated: “Pursuant to provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2097, the preparation towards submission of the 2015 Budget to the National Assembly is progressing well.
“The MTEF and FSP were prepared against the backdrop of the global economic uncertainty and developments in the domestic environment to ensure that planned spending is set at prudent and sustainable levels and is consistent with government’s overall development objectives set out in the Transformation Agenda of this administration.”
However, after the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had raised the alarm on the crash in the international crude oil market, about a month after the letter was sent to the National Assembly.
Consequently, the development led to President Jonathan transmitting a letter to the Senate proposing $73 per barrel as the new oil benchmark for the 2015 budget.
