SAN FRANCISCO, November 04, (THEWILL) – The Senate on Thursday thrown out the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari, describing the documents as “empty” and not worth considering.
The Senate complained that the details of the fiscal proposals, which in Nigeria’s public finance architecture are the precursors to the annual budget, were not attached to the president’s letter requesting the consideration.
At the day’s plenary, the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, raised a point of order drawing the attention of his colleagues to a newspaper report with a headline, which suggested that the National Assembly was to be blamed for the failure to meet the October target for the submission of the 2017 budget proposal.
He said the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, was quoted as saying in the publication that the suspension of debate of the MTEF/FSP had stalled the ministry’s plan to transmit the 2017 budget to the legislature.
The Senate Leader expressed displeasure that the executive arm had resorted to blaming the legislature over the avoidable delay.
He said, “As the Leader of this Senate and I am responsible for presenting communications, bills from the Executive. You will recall that we received the MTEF on 30th September. Instead of submitting it according to law not later than 1st of September, that is not even the problem.
“I went through and the copies have been circulated. I talked to some experts. Even in this chamber, we have people that you can call experts. If you look at this document that they call MTEF, it is empty. And it doesn’t contain anything. If you have nothing how do you consider nothing?”
Ndume said on October 19, he wrote Udoma and the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, seeking the details of the MTEF/FSP but that he was yet to get any response from the duo.
The Senate Leader said he invited both ministers to meet with the Senate on November 1 to review the MTEF from holistic perspective but that they failed to turn up.
He further explained that in the letter he requested that a comprehensive report on the implementation of the 2016 budget as of third quarter as well as the fiscal rates taxes and charges used to derive the projected revenue.
“Up till now, there is no communication to that,” he lamented.
Ndume warned that the legislature could not afford to begin the 2017 budget process with blame game.
He said, “We cannot afford to start the 2017 budget process with this blame game. This Senate is Nigerian Senate. We have the opposition that is co-operating with us and we have the majority in this Senate.
“So, it is not like we are working against the government but we know what we are doing. And we should do it right.
“When they bring nothing and we ask for something so that we will do it properly, they run to the newspaper to start blaming the National Assembly.”
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said he called Udoma on phone to discuss the matter and that the minister was ready to retract what he reportedly said about the MTEF and the blame on the legislature.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Albert Bassey, also said, “I called the Minister of Budget and he confirmed that he was quoted out of context that he will address this.”
In his contribution, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, gave assurance that the Senate was ready to consider the 2017 budget provided things were done properly.
“We are ready to take the budget presentation anytime (but) in doing so, the executive must be reminded that everything must be done right. All arms of government must live to its responsibility. The issue of blame game should be put behind us,” he said.
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