Senators will this week, resume consideration of the 2017 – 2019 MediumTerm Expenditure Framework (MTEF), just as the National Assembly awaits the presentation of the 2017 budget tomorrow.
A peep into the Notice Paper of the Senate for this week, revealed that the Senate will resume the consideration of the MTEF and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) sent to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The senate had initially rejected the MTEF/FSP and asked the executive to rework it, but following some deliberations, the senate agreed to resume debate on the document.
President Buhari had last week, written to seek the permission of the National Assembly for a joint session, tomorrow, December 14, to enable him present the 2017 estimates of the Appropriation bill.
Besides the budget estimates to be presented by the president, the Senate will continue with the consideration of the MTEF and FSP, while also holding the screening of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Thursday.
Deputy Senate leader, Bala Ibn Na’allah, said recently that the Senate could receive the 2017 budget estimates, even when it was yet to pass the MTEF.
According to him, the law did not stop the lawmakers from receiving the budget before the passage of MTEF, but that the lawmakers must pass the MTEF before they could pass the budget into law.
“What people don’t understand is that the approval of MTEF is not a precondition for accepting the budget. But it is a precondition for passing the budget into law. I want you to understand the difference.
“What does MTEF entail? It is giving us a graphic expectation of a country income, either perceived, derived or accrued,” he said.
“Now, if the President presents the budget on wednesday, which we hope will be presented, the Senate will now go ahead to approve the MTEF, so that it will provide the foundation for us to examine what has been presented by the President on Wednesday as a budget of the nation for the 2017 year.”
The Fiscal Responsibility Act provided that the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework shall be the basis for the preparation of the estimates of revenue and expenditure for the budget which is to be laid before the National Assembly under section 81 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Other legislative activities listed in the notice paper for the week include the consideration of the Committee Report on the North East Development Bill 2016; deliberation on the 2016 budget proposals of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as well as the budgets of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Postal Service of Nigeria.