...Probes N8.4tn withheld subsidy by NNPCL
The Nigerian Senate has approved the 2025–2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), paving the way for President Bola Tinubu to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.
The passage followed the presentation of a report by Sani Musa, Chairman of the Joint Committees on Finance and National Planning & Economic Affairs on Tuesday.
The Senate also directed its Committees on Finance and Petroleum, as well as Gas, to investigate allegations of withheld funds by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), including NGN 8.48 trillion in petrol subsidies and N3.6 trillion in unpaid taxes.
These allegations were highlighted by reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
Read also: MTEF 2025 budget top agenda, as Tinubu presides over FEC meeting today
The development follows the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation confirming it had received the necessary and complete documents to verify the N2.7 trillion fuel subsidy claim made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited against the government.
Key provisions of the adopted framework include an oil benchmark price of $75 per barrel for 2025, $76.2 per barrel for 2026, and $75.3 per barrel for 2027. Additionally, domestic crude oil production is projected at 2.06 million barrels per day for 2025, an increase from the current year’s 1.78 million barrels per day.
The framework also anticipates GDP growth rates of 4.6 per cent in 2025, 4.4 per cent in 2026, and 5.5 per cent in 2027. Furthermore, the exchange rate has been pegged at ₦1,400 to the US dollar for the three-year period.
This approval follows the Federal Executive Council’s adoption of the 2025–2027 framework, which includes a proposed ₦47.9 trillion budget for 2025. This represents a 37.25 per cent increase from the 2024 budget.
President Tinubu formally transmitted the MTEF/FSP to the National Assembly on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, for their consideration, following its approval by the Federal Executive Council.
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