Senate Scores 2013 Budget Performance Unimpressive

The Senate has scored the performance of the 2013 budget as unimpressive even as the upper chamber passed the Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

The lawmakers expressed concerns about the faulty planning process of arriving at the projections in the MTEF and FSP and the leakages which led to shortfalls in revenue.

The lawmakers were also surprised that the executive is contemplating new borrowing of N572 billion and if approved would raise the country's debt profile to an all-time high of N8.25 trillion.

Fixes $76.50 Per Barrel As Benchmark Price Of Crude Oil

The Senate adopted the report of its committee on MTEF and FSP for the implementation of the 2014 budget which fixed the oil benchmark at $76.5 per barrel.



The senators were initially divided on the adoption of the committee's report after it was presented by the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance and Appropriations of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Markafi.

Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi demanded the rejection of the MTEF from the Presidency or the suspension of debates on the committee's report to enable members to have enough time to study the document.

But Senators Ita Enang, Abdul Ningi expressed the need to discuss and approve the document but insisted that issues raised by the committee in its report, called for serious concern.

Enang wondered why the Federal Government was still keeping the Excess Crude Account when it was illegal, because according to him, the constitution had stipulated that all funds accruing to the country should be kept in the federation account.

While this might be a concluded matter in the senate, it's still not clear if the House of Representatives would pass the MTEF in time before the president presents the 2014 budget next Tuesday.