Buhari to submit 2017 budget Dec 1

President Muhammadu Buhari will send the 2017 budget on Thursday, December 1st, 2016.

This is even as the Senate has picked holes in the 2017 to 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), submitted by the Executive.

The document, currently being debated by the Senate, is based on the assumptions of average oil production of 2.2mbpd, average oil price of USD 42.5 per barrel and exchange rate of N290 per dollar for 2017.

Submission of the budget was confirmed by Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio while giving his contribution on the debate on the document.

But senators described all the parameters as ‘unrealistic’ and ‘voodo-oriented’.

They also called on the Executive to present an economic plan to get the country out of recession.

The president’s proposal also shows that the government is projecting a 3.02 percent GDP growth in 2017, while inflation is projected at 12.92percent for next year.

However, in their separate contributions, lawmakers submitted that the proposals are not only unrealistic but that the document lacks credibility.

Senate President Bukola Saraki who presided over the session, stated that the performance of the 2016 budget must be presented before the MTEF report is ready. He thereafter referred document to the Committees on Finance, Appropriations and National Planning.